Kuwait-based Jazeera Airways on Wednesday approved a 10 per cent stock buyback at the company's annual meeting, where shareholders also re-elected the company's board for a third term.

Jazeera Airways, the only international airline in the Middle East that is neither owned nor subsidised by any government, highlighted its strong revenues despite record fuel prices at the meeting held at the airliner's new headquarters in Freedom Town in Kuwait.

Shareholders reviewed and approved financial accounts for the year ending on December 31 2007, which closed with a net profit of KD 2.29 million ($8.6 million) and operating revenues of KD 34.7 million.

This represented a growth of 61.2 per cent over operating revenues of KD21.5 million for the full year of 2006 - the airline’s first operational year, said a company official.

Marwan Boodai, chairman and CEO told shareholders that its continued profitability despite record fuel prices was a result of two factors.

'The first is that we we carried 100 per cent more passengers than 2006 as more and more customers choose us over our on-time performance and quality service, and secondly because of our robust cost management.”

At the meeting, Jazeera Airways’ shareholders agreed to the board's proposal that dividends would not be paid to shareholders nor would board members receive bonuses, as per the airline's five-year business plan.

Shareholders ratified the airline's 2007 financial results; agreed to the selection of Price Waterhouse Coopers as auditors; ratified the Board's proposal to issue bonds in Kuwaiti Dinars or any other currency at a time set by the board.

The company re-elected the following board members for a three-year term:
Marwan Boodai - Chairman and CEO; Jassim Boodai, vice chairman; Yacoub Al-Sharhan, representing Boodai Enterprises (WLL); Fadhel Al-Khateeb, representing Boodai Enterprises (WLL); Yousif al Jalahma, representing Combined Building Materials Co (WLL); Suhail Homsi, representing Combined Building Materials Co (WLL) and Nasser Khaleefah Al Sanousi, representing Kuwait Applications Service Provider Company.

Jazeera Airways is listed on the Kuwait Stock Exchange and operates a fleet of six Airbus A320s from hubs in Kuwait and Dubai to destinations across the Middle East, Europe, Iran, North Africa, and the Indian Subcontinent.

The airline has a firm order for 34 additional aircraft, to be delivered over the coming years, with the last installment scheduled for delivery in 2014.-TradeArabia News Service