Kenya Airways Announces Sh4 Billion Half-Year Loss

Kenya Airways has recorded a loss of Sh4 billion in the first six months of 2018, representing a 30 percent improvement from the Sh5.7 billion posted in the same period the previous year.

The airline’s revenue grew to Sh52.1 billion in the half -year of 2018 from Sh50 billion in the same period in 2017.

Releasing the half-year results on Wednesday, Kenya Airways Chief Executive Officer Sebastian Mikosz said the increased revenue was as a result of more destinations, more cargo and more fleet.

“The lowest earnings before interest and taxes margins are in Africa, despite growth in GDP, the market is not growing. This is a signal that we need to analyze how the market is evolving,” he said.

He added: “Some of the key challenges we are experiencing are fuel prices, economic growth variation, volatile exchange rates and repatriation of funds.”

Mikosz said the airline carried 2.3 million passengers, attained a cabin factor of 75.9 per cent and on time performance of 82 per cent within the period. 

Kenya Airways Chairman Michael Joseph mentioned fuel price volatility as one of the major challenges the airline is facing.

“The price per barrel has been on an upward trend since the beginning of this year closing at USD 74 as at 30 June 2018 representing an increase of 12pc in global fuel prices within the first half of the financial year,” said Joseph.

“Looking forward, the airline will continue to focus on an optimized network to create more connections through Nairobi and in turn increase efficiency in order to reduce overall costs, as we focus on return to profitability.”