This archive report was first published on 9 September 2019.
Published on September 9, 2019, Swissport Tanzania, the main ground and cargo handling company for airports in the country, has reported a 50% drop in profits for the first six months of this year.
The company's 2019 half-year results show net profits dropped to Tsh2.28 billion ($991,776), from Tsh4.947 billion ($2.15 million) reported in 2018. Revenues fell to Tsh17.24 billion ($7.5 million) from Tsh25.088 billion ($10.9 million) and operating costs to Tsh14.07 billion ($6.1 million) from Tsh17.633 billion (7.67 million).
Swissport Tanzania attributes the drop in revenue to a reduction in business and flight frequencies by some of its airline customers.
The Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority (TCAA) gave NAS-Dar Airco the nod to operate at the Julius Nyerere International Airport in order to meet the rising demand for ground handling services. Swissport Tanzania Ltd, a subsidiary of Swissport International, dominates the business in the country.
With the exit of Fastjet Tanzania, a key client of Swissport, and the entry of NAS-Dar Airco which is handling Air Tanzania's ground handling services, business has been thinning for the Swiss firm.
According to sources, Air Tanzania is angling to have a subsidiary exclusively service its cargo and provide allied services. The firm will be domiciled at the airline's hub at the JNIA.
Just last month, Tanzania unveiled a state-of-the-art terminal at the airport, which is seen as part of the country's bid to position itself as a regional aviation hub.
Swissport Tanzania's chairman Mark Skinner gave specific mention to the cessation of business by FastJet Tanzania, as a setback for its business.
FastJet Tanzania's outlook now appears increasingly uncertain after TCAA ordered the carrier to address various regulatory and non-regulatory issues which disqualified it from further operations in the country.
On Swissport Tanzania's future outlook, Mr Skinner sounded upbeat, saying no further decline in business volume or yield was expected.
"We anticipate our airline customers to continue operating as per their presented plans while cargo volume shall remain stable. We therefore envisage the financial performance for the second six months to be in line with the first six months," he said.
Swissport Tanzania Plc offers ground and cargo handling, executive aviation, and aviation security services at all four of Tanzania's major airports, as well as several others around the country.
