Qatar Airways posts $70 mln loss

Qatar Airways incurred a loss of $70 million (QAR 252 million) in the fiscal year ending on March 31, 2018, compared to a profit of $772 million (QAR 2.8 billion) in the previous year.

The airline’s revenue, meanwhile, rose 7.4 percent year-on-year (YoY) to $11.5 billion (QAR 42 billion) compared to $10.7 billion (QAR 39 billion) a year earlier, it said in a statement on its website.

Lower revenue growth was directly attributable to the dispute, which impacted departing seats by 19 percent YoY, the statement said.

Operating expenses rose 17.8 percent YoY to $11.6 billion (QAR 42.2 billion) versus $10 billion (QAR 36.7 billion) a year earlier, due to an increase in the cost of fuel.

“This turbulent year has inevitably had an impact on our financial results,” Qatar Airways chief executive Akbar Al Baker said in a statement, adding that the year was “the most challenging year” in the airline’s 20-year history.