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The Aerolíneas Argentinas Shareholders’ Assembly approved the 2023 financial report, which recorded a more than $220 million loss. However, during the presentation, the company’s president, Fabián Lombardo, announced that by the end of 2024, the airline is expected to achieve an operating surplus, its first since being nationalized in 2008.
Despite negative results, the airline obtained $500 million in extraordinary financial gains in 2023 due to exchange rate differences. This factor temporarily reduced its reliance on National Treasury funding.
Given these figures, shareholders disapproved of the previous board’s management, whose members were removed following Lombardo’s appointment.
According to the official statement, over the last 16 years, the company has reported an average annual operating loss of $400 million at EBIT level (earnings before interest and taxes), with a negative balance of $390 million in 2023. However, Lombardo assured that 2024 this indicator will turn positive, reaching a surplus of $20.2 million.
The improved financial performance is attributed to an operational restructuring that reduced consolidated debt in dollars by 25% without affecting the company’s liquidity level. Additionally, the allocation of state funds for current expenses was the lowest since nationalization.
Lombardo also announced that, based on projections, the company will not request National Treasury funding in 2025 and will operate solely with its own resources. This would allow shareholders to explore various future options for the airline.
These improvements were achieved through a cost reduction policy, which included a 13% workforce reduction, bringing staff levels to their lowest in 14 years. One thousand six hundred employees left the company, and 85 executive positions, including eight directorates and 20 management roles, were eliminated.
“This year’s work was aimed at aligning the company with industry standards and improving its performance in preparation for a potential market opening when conditions allow,” Lombardo concluded.
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