The Ministry of Economy and Finance revealed in a report that the debt of state company Linhas Aéreas de Moçambique (LAM) fell by 5.7 per cent in 2023, standing at 105.9 million dollars (6.6 billion meticals) compared to 112.3 million dollars (7 billion meticals) in 2022.
According to the document, released on Friday (26), globally, the companies that make up the State Business Sector (SEE) accumulated a total debt stock of 612.1 million dollars (38.6 billion meticals) at the end of 2023, a reduction of almost 10 per cent in the space of a year.
“It should be noted that, after Rádio Moçambique managed to settle its debts in full in 2022, in 2023 three other companies – Televisão de Moçambique, Correios de Moçambique and DOMUS – also completely settled the debts on their respective balance sheets,” he said.
According to the report, the SEE debt stock was led in 2023 by Aeroportos de Moçambique, with 199.4 million dollars (12.6 billion meticals), followed by Caminhos-de-Ferro de Moçambique, with 113.4 million dollars (7.1 billion meticals).
LAM has been led for almost two months by Theunis Crous, who is also managing director of South Africa’s Fly Modern Ark (FMA), appointed by the government in April last year to restructure the state-owned airline. The company’s strategy follows years of operational problems related to a reduced fleet and a lack of investment.
LAM’s flight network has 12 destinations on the domestic market. Regionally, it flies regularly to Johannesburg, Dar es Salaam, Harare, Lusaka and Cape Town, while Lisbon has been its only intercontinental destination since 12 December.
The airline operates more than 40 flights a day, using its fleet of one Boeing 737, three Q400s, two Bombardier CRJ 900s and two Embraer 145s operated by its subsidiary Moçambique Expresso (MEX).
