Air Malta announced that it made a €16.4 million loss for the year ending in March 2015, but projected that losses will be down to €4 million by next March.

The €16 million loss was in line with projections, Chairperson Maria Micallef said.

As for this year, she said that in the first six months, the company is €8.7 million better off, from a profitability point of view, when compared to the first six months of last year.

She was addressing the Annual General Meeting.

Total revenue in the year ending March 2014, stood at €227.7 million, and stood at €211.9 in the year ending March 2015.  Operating costs decreased by €4.7 million. Aircraft maintenance costs for the year ending March 2015 rose by around €5 million, primarily due to the decline of the Euro compared with the Dollar, as maintenance is paid in dollars as “an industry standard”.

The airline, it was said, suffered greatly due to the closure of Libyan routes and a drop in Russian passengers due to sanctions, estimated to have amounted to a €10 million loss of funds. Chief Financial Officer Klaus Gossler said that these events were unforeseen, and that it would be hard for any airline to immediately take up other routes to replace them.

The officials said that they look optimistically towards the future, however mentioned the increasing competitivety of the market.

The Chairperson mentioned that the aircraft fleet will come down to eight this year. She said all planes are leased . "Out of the 12 aircraft we had, we did not renew four of them. We will be better utilising our aircraft. We were one of the airlines with the lowest utilisation of aircraft, and we will increase this performance. Our commercial department is currently working out the schedule. We will carry same amount of passengers and retain the same capacity on market," she assured, adding that if business grows, "then we will lease more aircraft"

The renegotiation with Sky Gourmet resulted in €4 million being saved per year, she said. She also added that the aircraft rationalisation and renewal results in €9 million in annual savings.

As for passengers, Chairperson Micallef mentioned that the revenue figures for July 2015 were higher than July 2013 (when the Libyan route was still operational).

She explained that Air Malta is currently in the process of selling Selmun Palace Hotel Company for €10.9 million to government, and on this point, Tourism Minister Edward Zammit Lewis said that this sale was in line with the restructuring plan, and also in line with EU regulations. He was pressed on the matter and asked if this had EU approval, and again said that government was in line with EU regulations.

The Chairperson added that the airline has its own peculiarities, including a traffic reduction in Winter, thus "we need more flexibility".

She spoke of the need to improve worker productivity, which could result in a decrease of part-time workers during the Winter months, and an increase during the Summer months.

Chief Financial Officer Klaus Gossler said that it was evidently clear that the airline was behind on the restructuring plan, "but on track for profitability". According to the plan, the company was supposed to break even and register a profit this coming year.

Air Malta CEO Philip Micallef said that the company is in the process of revamping its website, and increasing services for mobile users.

He said the airline will be increasing its partners, over and above those that already exist with companies like Lufthansa and Air France. He said that in the future they will announce one which could essentially provide flights to further around the globe.

Air Malta is also close to concluding a request for proposals in order to have adverts on the in-flight videos.

Tourism Minister Edward Zammit Lewis said that this is the final year of the restructuring plan, and the events of this year point positively towards the future.

"The loss of business we faced from Libya and Russia were due to external factors without control. Air Malta was proactive and recuperated a substantial part of that loss through opportunities it took on other routes".

"We have always been determined, as a government, to move forward step by step with the restructuring plan and undertake all the measures established"

He mentioned the need to find a strategic partner "who can ensure long-term financial stability".

He said that government will remain in control of Air Malta, even when the strategic partner is found.