Kenya Airways (KQ) has recorded a Ksh14.3 billion in the first six months of 2020, representing a 67 percent rise from Ksh8.5 billion loss recorded in the first six months of 2019.
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, most of its flights were grounded leaving only a few charter planes and cargo flights in operation. The number of passengers reduced by 55.5 percent to 1.1 million compared to 2.4 million in the first half of 2019.
As a result, KQ revenues reduced to Ksh30.2 billion in the period under review from Ksh58.5 billion in the first six months of 2019.
Read: KQ Posts Ksh12.9 Billion Loss For The Year Ending December 2019
“The reduction is due to the cessation of scheduled operations from the second quarter of 2020,” KQ said in its unaudited financial statements sent to the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE).
The carrier’s operating costs went down from Ksh61.4 billion last year to Ksh38.6 billion, resulting to an operating loss of Ksh8.4 billion. KQ incurred other costs of Ksh5.9 billion. Its current liabilities stood at Ksh59 billion.
However, the loss made in the six months to June 30, 2020 could increase to Ksh21 billion if the carrier includes a Ksh3.2 billion loss on hedged exchange differences on borrowings and a Ksh3.4 billion loss on lease liabilities to the loss statement.
“The network activity from April to June was minimal due to travel restrictions and lock downs effectively reducing operations to almost nil in connecting our home market to key cities,” said KQ chairman Michael Joseph.
The loss recorded in six months to June is more than the loss for the full financial year ended December 2019, which stood at Ksh12.9 billion.
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