Airport, railway operators suffer as Covid-19 applies transportation brakes

The Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV) saw its pre-tax profits in the first quarter go down 24 percent year-on-year to VND1.86 trillion ($78 million), according to a recent report by the Commission for Management of State Capital at Enterprises (CMSC).

The ACV, which operates 21 airports, now estimates its pre-tax profits at VND1.48 trillion ($63 million) for the whole year, down 86 percent from last year.

It has also forecast that domestic demand for air travel in April and May will continue to be 60-70 percent lower year-on-year.

A recovery is expected in June, but as schools are set to open throughout the summer to make up for the long break, travel demand might not jump during this period as it usually does.

The Vietnam Railway Corporation (VNR), meanwhile, saw its Q1 revenue down 11 percent year-on-year to VND528 billion ($23 million), with just one train route operating.

It recorded a loss of VND100 billion ($4.3 million) in Q1 and estimates the figure could rise nine-fold to VND935 billion ($40 million) for the whole year.

The Vietnam National Shipping Lines (Vinalines) has also reported a Q1 loss of VND113 billion ($4.8 million), with shipping demand to and from China, Europe and the U.S. plummeting.

Shipping and logistics volumes have dropped by 40 percent year-on-year and most of its ships now do not have orders.

The Vietnam Expressway Corporation (VEC), which operates the nation’s expressways, estimates a loss of VND140 billion ($6 million) for the year as revenue from tolls fall.

The CMSC report says most of the 19 state-owned corporations are struggling because of the pandemic. Their losses could reach VND26.3 trillion ($1.2 billion) for the whole year, it estimates.