South African Airways (SAA) mapped out its turnaround strategy to make the struggling airline more competitive and cost-efficient after reporting a hefty annual loss on Thursday. SAA, which has not generated profit since 2011, is regularly cited by ratings agencies as a drain on the government purse and survives on state guarantees totalling nearly 20 billion rand ($1.69 billion).
The company's results for the year to March 31, 2017 - which had been delayed after the company received a 10 billion rand government bailout last year - showed a deepening loss of 5.6 billion rand, a more than threefold increase from the previous year's 1.5 billion rand loss.