Qatar Airways net profits have increased 21.7 per cent in the 2017 fiscal year, with strong growth in the cargo division.
Net profits rose from 1.6 billion Qatari Rials ($436 million) in 2016 to 1.9 billion Rials in the 2017 fiscal year, while revenue increased 10.4 per cent to 38.9 billion Rials.
Qatar Airways Cargo also had a strong year, with cargo revenue rising from 5.6 billion Rials to 6.4 billion, and volumes up from 954,191 tonnes to 1.1 million tonnes.
Qatar Airways Group chief executive, His Excellency Akbar Al Baker says: “Our annual results once again reflect the success of our expansion and growth strategy that has seen the Qatar Airways Group grow from a small regional airline into an aviation powerhouse over the last two decades.”
“As we celebrate our 20th anniversary in the industry, I am proud to share our annual results with the world so that they can see how far we have come as an airline group and how our dedicated team of more than 43,000 employees have worked together to make Qatar Airways the huge success it is today.”
The network expanded in the 2017 fiscal year, with flights to Adelaide, Australia; Atlanta, USA; Auckland, New Zealand; Krabi, Thailand; Marrakech, Morocco; Pisa, Italy; Mahe, Seychelles; Windhoek, Namibia; and Yerevan, Armenia.
Qatar Airways is continuing to expand its network, including Airbus A350 flights to Dublin, Republic of Ireland starting on 12 June, offering 80 tonnes of bellyhold capacity a week.
Other new destinations are planned for 2017 and 2018 including Abidjan; Ivory Coast; Accra, Ghana; Canberra, Australia; Chiang Mai, Thailand; Chittagong, Bangladesh; Mombasa, Kenya; and Utapao, Thailand.
