Jazeera Airways Group announced a net profit of KD7.6 million for the third quarter of 2012, making it the best quarter in the company’s history and the ninth straight quarter of profitability since the third quarter of 2010.
Operating revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% to KD20.4 million and operating profit was up 17.9% to KD8.8 million. For the first nine months of the year, operating revenue was up 9.3% to KD48.7 million and operating profit was up 26.3% to KD15.2 million.
The forecast for the rest of the year remains unchanged and it expects to close the year with a “mild” fourth quarter. These results reflect the success of the airline’s Strategic Master Plan (STAMP) for 2012 to 2014.
Jazeera Airways Group Chairman Marwan Boodai said, “We just closed our best quarter ever on the heels of eight straight quarters of profitability driven by a dynamic management and an agile business model. Two years ago we were a turn-around story, last year we were a sustainable profit story, and today Jazeera Airways is clearly a profit-growth story.”
Operationally, Jazeera Airways’ on-time performance (OTP) for the third quarter was 96%, as measured by the US-based global OTP tracker FlightStats, which also placed the airline among the top 10 on-time performers worldwide for the same period. The airline also launched new booking channels and check-in options at Kuwait Airport in the first nine months.
Established in 2005, Jazeera Airways Group is a Kuwait Stock Exchange-listed company with a fleet of 12 fully-owned Airbus A320s, distributed between its airline business, Jazeera Airways, and its fully-owned leasing-arm Sahaab Aircraft Leasing. Sahaab has assets placed with Virgin America, SriLankan Airlines, and Jazeera Airways.
Jazeera Airways is based in Kuwait and operates a network comprising high-demand business, leisure, family, and weekend destinations such as Dubai, Bahrain, Beirut, Alexandria, Amman, Damascus, Istanbul, Sharm El Sheikh, Assuit, Luxor, Mashhad, Sohag, Jeddah, Riyadh, Cairo and Al Najaf.