Kenya Airways, the national flag carrier of the East African country, released its results for the first half of this year (1H22) on Wednesday. It had accrued total revenues of 48.104-billion Kenya shillings (Kshs) in the period under review. (This figure comes to a little more than $401-million.) This represented a 76% increase over the revenues accrued during the same period last year (1H21).
The operating loss in 1H22 was Kshs5-billion ($41.7-million). This was 31.5% down on the operating loss of Kshs7.3-billion ($609-million) recorded in 1H21.
The airline carried 1.61-million passengers during 1H22, which was 85% higher than the figure of 0.87 achieved during 1H21. However, passenger revenues in 1H22 were 109% higher than during the equivalent period last year. These surges in passenger numbers and revenues were the result of the removal of travel restrictions in various markets and the release of pent-up travel demand. Nevertheless, passenger numbers in 1H22 were still 33% below those reached during the same period of 2019, the last pre-Covid-19-pandemic year.
Cargo tonnage flown by the airline in 1H22 was 39% higher than in 1H21. However, cargo revenues increased by only 18% over the same period.
“The opening of borders worldwide has led to quick rebounds in some key markets,” highlighted Kenya Airways board chairperson Michael Joseph. “Lingering travel restrictions in some markets have limited the recovery. It is also important to note that these results were further affected by the high price of aviation fuel which is over 65% more than last year. If we adjusted for the fuel price spike, the operating profit for the period would have been Kshs1.5-b[illion]."
“Our focus is to ensure that we strengthen our operational resilience through innovation and diversification to deliver great and reliable services to our customers,” affirmed Kenya Airways Group MD and CEO Allan Kilavuka. “We have transformed the airline during the pandemic, enabling us to emerge with renewed strength, underpinned by a product, network and service that customers value.”