The shareholders of Jazeera Airways have approved the Board of Directors’ recommendation to distribute cash dividends of 50% of its capital which is 50 fils per share, a total of KD11 million ($35.8 million) for the second half of 2022.
This was announced at the Company’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) and Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) held at its headquarters in Kuwait earlier today.
For the first half of 2022, interim cash dividends of 30 fils per share were distributed bringing the total cash dividends distribution for full year 2022 to an unprecedented 80 fils per share.
The EGM also approved an amendment to the Article of Association allowing the AGM to delegate the Board of Directors to declare and distribute interim dividends, which facilitates the process of dividend distribution.
In February 2023, Jazeera Airways announced record profits of KD20.1 million for the financial year 2022. In the last 10 years, Jazeera has returned a total of KD 107.6 million in cash to shareholders, which is equivalent to five times its paid-up capital.
Jazeera Airways reported record full year earnings at 91.28 fils per share, an increase of 174.4% over the same period in 2021. This was supported by passenger traffic of 3.6 million, an increase of 247.5% over the last comparable period. Load factor at 77% was higher by 10.2%. Operating revenues for 2022 rose by 126.5% to KD182.1 million and operating profit was higher by 148.4% to KD26.8 million
Marwan Boodai, Chairman, Jazeera Airways, said: “For 2022, Jazeera Airways announced the highest profits in the history of our airline, despite a year marred with high fuel prices that added significantly to our costs. This highlights our stringent cost management strategy, strong business plan and hardworking team that drove this success across our network. We are pleased to share our success with our investors and shareholders and look forward to continuing this dynamic growth in the coming future. ”
2023 outlook
In 2023, Jazeera Airways will continue to stay focused on its expansion plans for its fleet and destinations network.
The airline will be launching direct flights to several new destinations in the summer including Munich, Belgrade and Tirana, in addition to resuming Prague and Sarajevo operations. With the new cities added to Jazeera’s network, the airline now serves 62 destinations across Europe, the Middle East, Central & South Asia and Africa.
Jazeera has also collaborated with Saudi partners to announce their intent to establish a low-cost airline in the Kingdom that will be based at the King Fahad International Airport in Dammam. – TradeArabia News Service