Linhas Aéreas de Moçambique (LAM) projects that it will break even next year, depending on how quickly the national economy recovers after being severely affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

The information is provided by the director general of LAM, João Carlos Jorge, who was speaking during a visit on Tuesday by the Planning and Budget Commission of the Assembly of the Republic (AR). According to the explanation of the director of LAM, the goal, when the restructuring began in 2018, was to reach, in three years, the point of financial balance.

However, with Covid-19 it was not possible to achieve this projection: "We think that in 2023, depending on the speed that the economy will have in its recovery, we would like to achieve this balance, through the implementation of much discipline, rigor and rules in the management of the company," he said, quoted in a statement we had access.

It should be noted that a process of restructuring LAM has been underway since 2018, aimed at making the company sustainable from an operational point of view, which means providing it with the financial capacity to cover costs, through the revenue produced.

To this end, LAM intends to improve in several aspects such as operational efficiency, gaining greater market share, open the network to more profitable markets, making the carrier attractive to investors, or to make the State itself feel comfortable, regarding the future of the company.

"Obviously, servicing the debt, while the company is as it is now, is a very big challenge. But when the company grows it will be able to service this debt," stressed the CEO, adding that LAM has to generate more business volume.

For now, LAM has resized its staff, as well as is standardizing the fleet, making the operation of flights more efficient.

In another development, João Carlos Jorge indicated that, in financial terms, 2019 was a better year, as it reversed the downward trend in the company's performance: "The following year (2020) was bad. Revenue fell 80% on average. In 2021, we started to feel that we were breaking even on operating costs, not including debt service."