Biggest losses

The biggest loss for 2020 was reported by Air New Zealand (ranked sixth in the Top 200 Index), with a loss of $454m. This is a $730m decrease for the national airline from its 2019 profit after tax of $276m.

This loss is reflective of the decline in profits in general for the travel industry due to Covid-19. Border restrictions have severely restricted international travel, evidenced by Air New Zealand’s reported 74 per cent decrease in passenger revenue from April-June

2020 compared to the same period in 2019.

In addition to this, Air New Zealand incurred $338m aircraft impairment expenses due to the grounding of fleet for the foreseeable future.

KiwiRail (ranked 61st in the Top 200 Index) is 2020’s second biggest loss maker, making a loss of $325m. Note that the financial statements obtained for KiwiRail in the current publication year are for the year ended 30 June 2019, as 30 June 2020 financials had not been made available in time for the publication of the Index.

Pacific Aluminium (49th) and Goodman Fielder (42nd) respectively hold the third and fourth biggest losses in 2020. Pacific Aluminium is a new entrant to the biggest losses index, reporting a loss of $313m (compared to a $236m profit in 2019).

Goodman Fielder, ranked 11th on the biggest losses index in 2019, has reported a loss of $242m (compared to a $15m loss in 2019).

The fifth biggest lost was reported by Kiwi Property (170th). Kiwi Property has reported a loss of $187m in 2020, in comparison to its $138m profit in 2019.

Fonterra (1st) no longer holds a spot on the losses index. Last year it was ranked second with a loss of $122m, but in 2020 it reported $803m — the top profit in the Top 200 Index, with its profit after tax increasing by $931m.