Budget carrier flydubai reported on Wednesday a loss of Dh316.8 million ($86.23 million) for the first half of 2018 even as revenues increased by over 10 per cent.

The carrier's H1 losses were more than double the Dh142.5 million ($38.7 million) loss recorded in the first half of 2017, primarily due to rising fuel costs, which jumped 35 per cent year-on-year, resulting in a price impact of Dh175 million ($47.6 million).

In a statement released by the airline, it said rising fuel costs put pressure on operating costs, in addition to the "economic and geopolitical climate remaining challenging, dampening demand for travel".

Total revenue for the first half increased to Dh2.8 billion ($762.1 million) for the six-month period, up 10.4 per cent compared to the same period last year.

Passenger numbers remained steady at 5.4 million during the first six months of the reporting period, the airline said.

Ghaith Al Ghaith, chief executive officer at flydubai, said: “In its first nine years of operation, much has been achieved to firmly establish flydubai as an intrinsic part of the aviation industry. We have continued to see a tough trading environment and the half-year results reflect these short-term challenges. We continue, however, to invest in our fleet, network and operations recognising opportunity as we look to the future.”

Arbind Kumar, senior vice president, Finance at flydubai, said: “We have seen good growth in our revenue during the first six months of this year. We remain focused on the three priorities we had previously set: to improve our cost performance, broaden our distribution and optimise our network whilst keeping our cost management plan under constant review. The stronger dollar, rising oil price and higher interest rates are expected to continue to impact our performance and we will need to maintain a tight grip on the deployment of our capacity. The benefits of our investments, aligned with our long-term financial goals provide a solid foundation for the next phase of development for the airline.” - TradeArabia News Service