Government of the Republic of Fiji
Government of the Republic of Fiji
05/09/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 05/08/2024 19:17
DEPUTY PM AND MINISTER FOR FINANCE HON. BIMAN PRASAD AT THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE FIJI AIRWAYS 2023...
The Chair and Board of Directors for Fiji Airways
MDCEO Fiji Airways Mr. Andre Viljoen
The Executive Leadership and Management of the National Airline
Company Employees
Ladies and Gentlemen
I only returned from the annual hectic ADB rounds in Georgia yesterday and I don't know why, but this time around, never was I so grateful and proud to see our brown and white TETEVA and MAKARE emblems, on the tail of the aircraft waiting for us passengers to board.
And as always, once I step onto the aircraft, I feel like I am already home. Ladies and Gentlemen, please allow me to invite you all to give a round of applause for the staggering company results announced today: -- an unrivalled record Profit Before Income Tax of FJ$ 131.8 million, -- total Revenue (Earnings) of FJ$1.8 billion and -- 2.2 million Passengers carried.
Ladies and gentlemen as the Line Minister for Fiji Airways, it is my privilege on behalf of the Coalition Government to resoundingly echo all the sentiments expressed by Andre and Mr. Nalin Patel in congratulating the entire team at Fiji Airways for such a historic record, thereby bringing the nation such honor and distinction.
I want to put into perspective exactly what your financial results mean not just to the National Airline - but to Fiji. The Revenue (Earnings) for the year 2023 of FJ$1.8 billion dollars is a direct injection into the economy. It triggers activity not just in the tourism sector, but right across the national economic landscape by way of salaries, the purchases of goods and services, the payment of utilities, new investments and countless other daily transactions - all of which collectively fuel the engine of growth.
All of your efforts and sacrifices have helped people outside of your direct workflow locations by nurturing lives, paying for education & basic health services; and assisting in the scaling up of the national infrastructure.
All of you amazing people present here today representing your colleagues still up in the air; or serving in the lounge kitchens; or receiving ticketing queries; or tuning up the engines for safety; or setting up the simulator at the academy -- every single one of you as representatives of our National Airline, should feel so proud to be at the core of Fiji's economic sustainability and growth.
Your expertise and passion that you provide to the company and what you may think as simply a job, sends economic tremors right across the nation. Please never forget that. Let it be fuel and motivation, on the days when you feel drained. What makes your individual stories that much more compelling, is that the story that Fiji Airways tells the world today, is because of your sheer determination to reclaim, with interest, all the lost ground from those dark days of COVID19. Because you pool together your collective skills and expert strengths, under solid leadership, many others can eat.
The nation is indebted to you all. As I shared during the launch of the SOAR publication just last month, that edition cherishes in print form for the annals of history, your Fiji Airways story, that exemplifies "THE GREATNESS OF SMALL" as per Alibaba's 2018 Winter Olympics campaign narrative -- among so many larger airlines. That story will be read by your own great grandchildren and your ancestors to come.
I cannot think of any other single entity in Fiji that singlehandedly contributes close to two billion dollars to the nation. So allow me at this juncture, to encourage and challenge other local enterprises to follow Fiji Airways' lead, and believe in your own "greatness of small" stories. Ladies and gentlemen, at the last sitting of Parliament, I informed the House that the Fiji Airways Annual Report 2023 would be ready to be tabled by the end of May - and just a week into the month, we have the Statutory Financial Results and Operational Performance released, which will be captured in the Annual Report. There is no doubt in my mind, or that of the Coalition Government, that our National Airline is strong, resilient, sustainable, and in safe hands.
You have all demonstrated this time and again with the many awards and improved ratings, even prior to today's announcement of the 2023 Financial Results. Please also know, that when this Annual Report is debated in parliament, the Coalition Governments acknowledgement and deep gratitude to you all, as well as the Board and management will be at the forefront of our views.
I have been kept abreast of numerous groundbreaking plans that will be taking place soon, to accelerate Fiji Airways to even greater heights in the world of commercial aviation, and I look greatly forward to when they are announced. It is profoundly praiseworthy to note that the company is not standing still or satisfied with its successes, but ever relentlessly pursues more "excellence". In all that you do, please know that the Coalition Government is firmly behind you. In closing, I have left the best news for last! I once again thank all of you for the sensational financial results and I wholeheartedly commend the Board for their decision to endorse a Profit Share payout.
The Profit Share is ……..FJ$5,000 for each non-management Employee of Fiji Airways, that will be in your bank account by the end of today. 6
The Executives and Management will earn a Profit Incentive in terms of their individual Contracts of Employment, which will also be paid today. It is so very well deserved!
You all have my utmost respect and admiration, and I thank you all so sincerely.
Vinaka Vaka Levu and Dhanyavad!
MDCEO Fiji Airways Mr. Andre Viljoen
The Executive Leadership and Management of the National Airline
Company Employees
Ladies and Gentlemen
I only returned from the annual hectic ADB rounds in Georgia yesterday and I don't know why, but this time around, never was I so grateful and proud to see our brown and white TETEVA and MAKARE emblems, on the tail of the aircraft waiting for us passengers to board.
And as always, once I step onto the aircraft, I feel like I am already home. Ladies and Gentlemen, please allow me to invite you all to give a round of applause for the staggering company results announced today: -- an unrivalled record Profit Before Income Tax of FJ$ 131.8 million, -- total Revenue (Earnings) of FJ$1.8 billion and -- 2.2 million Passengers carried.
Ladies and gentlemen as the Line Minister for Fiji Airways, it is my privilege on behalf of the Coalition Government to resoundingly echo all the sentiments expressed by Andre and Mr. Nalin Patel in congratulating the entire team at Fiji Airways for such a historic record, thereby bringing the nation such honor and distinction.
I want to put into perspective exactly what your financial results mean not just to the National Airline - but to Fiji. The Revenue (Earnings) for the year 2023 of FJ$1.8 billion dollars is a direct injection into the economy. It triggers activity not just in the tourism sector, but right across the national economic landscape by way of salaries, the purchases of goods and services, the payment of utilities, new investments and countless other daily transactions - all of which collectively fuel the engine of growth.
All of your efforts and sacrifices have helped people outside of your direct workflow locations by nurturing lives, paying for education & basic health services; and assisting in the scaling up of the national infrastructure.
All of you amazing people present here today representing your colleagues still up in the air; or serving in the lounge kitchens; or receiving ticketing queries; or tuning up the engines for safety; or setting up the simulator at the academy -- every single one of you as representatives of our National Airline, should feel so proud to be at the core of Fiji's economic sustainability and growth.
Your expertise and passion that you provide to the company and what you may think as simply a job, sends economic tremors right across the nation. Please never forget that. Let it be fuel and motivation, on the days when you feel drained. What makes your individual stories that much more compelling, is that the story that Fiji Airways tells the world today, is because of your sheer determination to reclaim, with interest, all the lost ground from those dark days of COVID19. Because you pool together your collective skills and expert strengths, under solid leadership, many others can eat.
The nation is indebted to you all. As I shared during the launch of the SOAR publication just last month, that edition cherishes in print form for the annals of history, your Fiji Airways story, that exemplifies "THE GREATNESS OF SMALL" as per Alibaba's 2018 Winter Olympics campaign narrative -- among so many larger airlines. That story will be read by your own great grandchildren and your ancestors to come.
I cannot think of any other single entity in Fiji that singlehandedly contributes close to two billion dollars to the nation. So allow me at this juncture, to encourage and challenge other local enterprises to follow Fiji Airways' lead, and believe in your own "greatness of small" stories. Ladies and gentlemen, at the last sitting of Parliament, I informed the House that the Fiji Airways Annual Report 2023 would be ready to be tabled by the end of May - and just a week into the month, we have the Statutory Financial Results and Operational Performance released, which will be captured in the Annual Report. There is no doubt in my mind, or that of the Coalition Government, that our National Airline is strong, resilient, sustainable, and in safe hands.
You have all demonstrated this time and again with the many awards and improved ratings, even prior to today's announcement of the 2023 Financial Results. Please also know, that when this Annual Report is debated in parliament, the Coalition Governments acknowledgement and deep gratitude to you all, as well as the Board and management will be at the forefront of our views.
I have been kept abreast of numerous groundbreaking plans that will be taking place soon, to accelerate Fiji Airways to even greater heights in the world of commercial aviation, and I look greatly forward to when they are announced. It is profoundly praiseworthy to note that the company is not standing still or satisfied with its successes, but ever relentlessly pursues more "excellence". In all that you do, please know that the Coalition Government is firmly behind you. In closing, I have left the best news for last! I once again thank all of you for the sensational financial results and I wholeheartedly commend the Board for their decision to endorse a Profit Share payout.
The Profit Share is ……..FJ$5,000 for each non-management Employee of Fiji Airways, that will be in your bank account by the end of today. 6
The Executives and Management will earn a Profit Incentive in terms of their individual Contracts of Employment, which will also be paid today. It is so very well deserved!
You all have my utmost respect and admiration, and I thank you all so sincerely.
Vinaka Vaka Levu and Dhanyavad!