Jazeera posts 11th straight quarterly profit
Kuwait, April 24, 2013
Jazeera Airways Group has announced a record net profit of KD3.6 million ($12.6 million) for first quarter, up 229.4 per cent from KD1.1 million last year, making it the group’s 11th straight profitable quarter with an average load factor of 70 per cent.
The Kuwaiti budget airline also posted its tenth record breaking quarter since Q3 of 2010, said a statement from Jazeera Airways.
The airline witnessed a 15.7 per cent growth in its revenue for the first quarter which soared to KD14.7 million compared to KD12.7 million last year, while its operating profit almost doubled to KD4.5 million from KD2.3 million last year.
Jazeera Airways Group chairman Marwan Boodai said, “These exceptional results were generated by our airline business, which saw an increase in passenger loads and a full recovery from the three Syrian destinations that were suspended by fourth quarter of 2012."
"The results were also driven by a five per cent increase in passengers from first quarter of 2012, and a 15.2 per cent increase in load factors from the same period last year," he stated.
Jazeera Airways operated the quarter with an average load factor of 70 per cent.
“All these factors combined in our airline business, coupled with the ongoing success of our independent aircraft leasing business, have resulted in our best first quarter results in the history of the Group,”said Boodai.
According to Boodai, the group's hard assets soared to KD145 million. "Its cash reserves too grew to hit KD45 million, exceeding equity which improved by KD35 million since the first quarter of 2012," he noted.
On the 2013 outlook, Jazeera said it continues to be positive in-line with a growing Kuwaiti economy, which continues to witness higher incomes despite international and regional economic pressures.
The company’s forecasts remain unchanged and expect a mild second quarter, a seasonal increase in demand in the third quarter, and a mild fourth quarter to close the year.
Jazeera Airways operates a network comprising high-demand business, leisure, family, and weekend destinations such as Dubai, Bahrain, Beirut, Alexandria, Amman, Istanbul, Sharm El Sheikh, Assiut, Luxor, Mashhad, Sohag, Jeddah, Riyadh, Cairo and Al Najaf.
The company had last year executed its rights issue in the fourth quarter, raising the target of KD17.8 million with an oversubscription of 2.25 times, he added.-TradeArabia News Service
