Kenya Airways has said its loses have increased to $290 million as compared to the previous year.
Kenya’s troubled national carrier driven under the slogan “The Pride of Africa”, has been experiencing losses for years, despite government efforts to keep it afloat.
Moreover, the airline chairman Michael Joseph in a commentary announcing the results reported that the full-year losses for the period ended December 2022 was 38.3 billion Kenyan shillings ($290 million), up from $120 million a year earlier.
Kenya airways blamed the high cost of fuel and the weakening Kenyan shilling.
“The Group recorded a loss before tax of Ksh 38.3 billion compared to Ksh 16 billion reported in the prior year,” Michael Joseph said.
In addition, this is the 10th consecutive year the airline has experienced losses. It last posted a profit in 2012.
Revenue upscaled by 66 percent which was still five percent below pre-pandemic levels.
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Meanwhile, passenger traffic stood at 3.7 million, which is a 68 percent increase compared to 2021.
However, it is still lower than 2019. In addition, cargo business increased by 3.5 percent.
Nevertheless, trading in the airline’s shares has been suspended as the company battles to return to profitability.
The Kenyan government owns a 48.9 percent stake in Kenya Airways, while Air France-KLM has 7.8 percent.
