Flydubai posts annual loss amid rising fuel costs and unfavourable currency swings

The budget carrier's annual revenues jumped 12.4% to Dh6.2bn

Flydubai reported annual losses in 2018 as a result of rising fuel charges and currency fluctuations. Jan Seba / Reuters

Budget carrier Flydubai posted its first annual loss since the airline began operations, amid a "challenging" year that saw increasing fuel costs and unfavourable currency exchange swings.

The carrier reported an annual net loss of Dh159.8 million in 2018 compared to a Dh37.3m profit in the year before, Flydubai said in a statement on Wednesday. Annual revenue rose 12.4 per cent to Dh6.2 billion compared to 5.5bn in 2017.

“Our performance in 2018 was impacted largely due to increasing fuel costs, rising interest rates and unfavourable currency exchange movements," said Ghaith Al Ghaith, chief executive of Flydubai. The company said fuels charges reached Dh411m, or about 30 per cent of total operating costs up from 25 per cent in the same period the previous year. .

"In line with expectations 2018 was a challenging year however we have continued to invest in our capacity and increased revenue," he added. "We optimised our network by increasing flight frequencies on existing routes and adding new routes and as they become established they will support our further growth.”

More to follow.