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(Reuters) – The low-cost African airline Fastjet Plc said Tuesday a smaller operating loss in the first quarter and said it should be slightly profitable in 2019, after a cash crisis that has Had almost run to the administration last year.
The airline has been facing many problems badociated with declining cash flow and was saved from bankruptcy after signing a fundraising agreement at the end of last year.
Fastjet was also forced to sell its business in Tanzania, its home market, after facing difficult market conditions.
"These cost-cutting measures have sometimes been painful, but our new businesses are giving Fastjet a significantly stronger strategic position to pursue growth opportunities on the continent," said Managing Director Nico Bezuidenhout.
The company announced an underlying net operating loss of approximately $ 0.2 million (154,155,000) in the first quarter, excluding a non-recurring item of 6, $ 2 million (£ 4.77 million) related to its activities in Zimbabwe.
Fastjet had a loss of $ 7.8 million a year earlier.
The company said its balance at March 31 was $ 2.9 million, of which $ 1.5 million was restricted cash in Zimbabwe.
However, he warned that his ability to repatriate funds from Zimbabwe and the volatility of the Zimbabwean currency were "significant risks" to his business in terms of the impact of liquidity and currency conversion.
(Report by Shashwat Awasthi in Bengaluru, edited by Gopakumar Warrier, Bernard Orr)
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