Vietnam Airlines ends year with record pre-tax profit hinh anh 1An aircraft of the national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines. (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi (VNA) – National flag carrier Vietnam Airlines ended 2017 with pre-tax profit hitting a record high of over 2.8 trillion VND (123.2 million USD), an increase of 8.3 percent from the previous year and 72 percent higher than the yearly target.

Vietnam Airlines earned about 88.4 trillion VND (3.9 billion USD) in revenue last year and its contribution to the State budget almost doubled 2016’s number, the airline announced on January 10.

Vietnam Airlines and its subsidiaries, Jetstar Pacific and Vasco, operated approximately 180,000 flights in 2017, carrying 26.5 million passengers and 343,000 tonnes of cargo, up 6.7 percent and 19 percent, respectively, from 2016.

The company controlled roughly 60 percent of the domestic market share and about 32.3 percent of the market share of international passengers flying to and from Vietnam.

In 2018, the corporation will continue expanding its fleet with more Airbus A350-900 and A321neo and pursuing its plan to open direct flights to the United States.

Vietnam Airlines stepped into the Unlisted Public Company Market (UPCoM) in January 2017, offering more than 1.2 billion shares, coded HVN, at a debut price of 28,000 VND per share. By the end of last year, HVN’s price soared to the peak of 42,000 VND per share, up 60 percent.

The firm plans to sell its shares on Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HOSE) in the second quarter of 2018 and will offer additional shares to existing shareholders in an attempt to increase its charter capital and reduce State ownership.-VNA
VNA