Kuwait's low-cost carrier Jazeera Airways said it made a loss of KD4.7 million ($16.41 million) in the second quarter. The airline, which started operations in 2005, made a loss of KD1.26 million in the year-earlier period.

Expectations for Jazeera's results ranged from a profit of 100,000 dinars to a loss of 1.1 million dinars in a Reuters analyst survey in July.

In a statement to the Kuwaiti bourse, Jazeera said it made a loss of KD9.22 million in the first half of the year, compared to a loss of KD2.23 million in the same period period of 2009.

Jazeera, which aims to fly 82 routes in the Middle East within the next five years, competes with United Arab Emirates-based Air Arabia  and Dubai-based carrier flydubai which started operations last year.

The carrier's total assets grew 119.5 percent in the first half of the year to 167.8 million dinars. The results were announced after trading hours on Kuwait's bourse.-Reuters