Kuwait's Jazeera Airways To Distribute $23m Dividend To Shareholders

Shareholders of Kuwait-based Jazeera Airways on Monday approved plans to distribute a cash dividend of KD7 million ($23 million) for 2018.

With the 2018 dividend, the airline said it has returned a total of KD84 million in cash to shareholders in the last five years.

Chairman Marwan Boodai said: “2018 was a transformational year for Jazeera Airways and its business as we continued to deliver on our strategy by expanding and diversifying our product and service offer, and grasping new opportunities that enable us to maintain our track-record performance of positive earnings year after year.”

Jazeera Airways inaugurated its dedicated Jazeera Terminal (T5) and also took delivery of the first A320neo to be delivered and operated in the Middle East. In 2019, the airline will commence flights to London Gatwick with the A320neo.

Jazeera Airways also continued to expand its network in the Indian subcontinent, launching four new routes to Kochi, Ahmedabad, Mumbai and New Delhi.

Boodai added: “With these new routes, Jazeera Airway took the opportunity to increase frequency to existing key destinations.”

He said Jazeera Airways ended last year with zero debt and reported a record growth of 46.4 percent in passengers and a 45.5 percent growth in operating revenue compared to 2017. The company’s adjusted net profit stood at KD8.7 million in 2018 while its reported net profit came in at KD6.7 million taking into account the impact of the irregular disruptions that took place during the year and the contribution of the terminal which opened in May.

Boodai said: “Our objective for 2019 is to continue expanding our network, and subsequently tap into new segments of customers. We plan to introduce routes to new destinations in Europe, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and the Gulf. The expansion will be supported with the delivery of three new A320neo aircraft, as part of a plan to increase our fleet to over 20 aircraft by 2022.”