(Photo: South African Airways)
The South African Airways (SAA) financial statements for the 2024-25 financial year look good on paper, but the warning signs are unmistakable that bankruptcy is still facing the shipping company.
So says Philip van Staden, the FF Plus’ spokesperson for transport.
He emphasizes that the financial statements do paint a positive picture, but suspects that this will be short-lived as the shipping company sold its take-off and landing rights at Heathrow Airport to improve its cash flow.
Van Staden says that this transaction apparently resulted in SAA showing on its books a total income of R9.3 million, operational costs of R9.6 million and a total income of R372 million on freight and mail transport.
The shipping company’s total assets apparently also exceed its total liabilities.
According to a report by the auditor-general for the 2024-25 financial year that served before the committee this week, SAA’s liabilities increased from R6.3 billion to R9.4 billion. Its assets grew from R12.8 billion to R16.1 billion.
When asked by the FF Plus to the auditor general whether this situation can be considered sustainable and financially sound as far as the future of the shipping company is concerned, the answer was that, from an operational point of view, this is not the case.
The FF Plus also wanted to know directly from SAL what its debtors owe it. The answer was that the debt amounts to a whopping sum of between R1.5 and R1.7 billion.
The shipping company’s debt to its creditors amounts to between R800 million and R900 million.
Van Staden says the shipping company boasts that it has no outstanding long-term loans or any other outstanding loans as it was fully paid off in 2024 with funds obtained through business rescue.
Meanwhile, it is uncertain what SAA pays Sun Express to use its fleet of aircraft on a regular basis.
“If the SAA had received no bailout and had not sold its rights at Heathrow, its financial situation would not have looked so good at all.”
Van Staden says it is clear that there are still major problems such as audits that do not pass, sufficient financial record keeping that is lacking, problematic unauthorized expenses as well as a lack of consequence management.
“A sufficiently funded and functional internal audit unit is desperately needed to get a precise picture of this. The time has come for the taxpayer to finally be relieved of the SAL burden by selling the shipping company.”
(Photo: iStock)
He believes that the government will never really succeed in getting SAA out of its financial predicament without continuous help.
“Privatization is the only way out to finally get rid of this expensive, dead bird that hangs like an albatross around the taxpayer’s neck,” says Van Staden.
The South African Airways (SAA) financial statements for the 2024-25 financial year look good on paper, but the warning signs are unmistakable that bankruptcy is still facing the shipping company.
So says Philip van Staden, the FF Plus’ spokesperson for health.
He emphasizes that the financial statements do paint a positive picture, but suspects that this will be short-lived as the shipping company sold its take-off and landing rights at Heathrow Airport to improve its cash flow.
Van Staden says that this transaction apparently resulted in SAA showing on its books a total income of R9.3 million, operational costs of R9.6 million and a total income of R372 million on freight and mail transport.
The shipping company’s total assets apparently also exceed its total liabilities.
According to a report by the auditor-general for the 2024-25 financial year that served before the committee this week, SAA’s liabilities increased from R6.3 billion to R9.4 billion. Its assets grew from R12.8 billion to R16.1 billion.
When asked by the FF Plus to the auditor general whether this situation can be considered sustainable and financially sound as far as the future of the shipping company is concerned, the answer was that, from an operational point of view, this is not the case.
The FF Plus also wanted to know directly from SAL what its debtors owe it. The answer was that the debt amounts to a whopping sum of between R1.5 and R1.7 billion.
The shipping company’s debt to its creditors amounts to between R800 million and R900 million.
Van Staden says the shipping company boasts that it has no outstanding long-term loans or any other outstanding loans as it was fully paid off in 2024 with funds obtained through business rescue.
Meanwhile, it is uncertain what SAA pays Sun Express to use its fleet of aircraft on a regular basis.
“If the SAA had received no bailout and had not sold its rights at Heathrow, its financial situation would not have looked so good at all.”
Van Staden says it is clear that there are still major problems such as audits that do not pass, sufficient financial record keeping that is lacking, problematic unauthorized expenses as well as a lack of consequence management.
“A sufficiently funded and functional internal audit unit is desperately needed to get a precise picture of this. The time has come for the taxpayer to finally be relieved of the SAL burden by selling the shipping company.”
He believes that the government will never really succeed in getting SAA out of its financial predicament without continuous help.
“Privatization is the only way out to finally get rid of this expensive, dead bird that hangs like an albatross around the taxpayer’s neck,” says Van Staden.