flydubai reports fifth consecutive year of profitability in 2016, flat growth forecast for 2017

flydubai reported (01-Feb-2017) its fifth consecutive full year of profitability in 2016. CEO Ghaith Al Ghaith reported continued traffic growth, lower fuel prices and ongoing cost management efforts, but a "a difficult pricing and operating environment." The airline said stronger performance in 2H2016, driven by increased passenger numbers, was impacted by downward pressure on yields leading to lower overall revenue growth, reflecting a continuation of the same adverse factors reported in 1H2016. Ancillary revenue made up 13.8% of total revenue in 2016, down from 15.1% in 2015. Fuel costs comprised 25% of operating costs, down from 30.6% in 2015. The airline carried 2.4 times more business class passengers in 2016 than 2014, with strongest demand in the Indian subcontinent, followed by the Caucasus, Europe and the Middle East. The carrier will not increase overall capacity in 2017 due to the challenging operating environment. Mr Al Ghaith said, "Yields will remain under pressure and we expect to report flat growth in the year ahead." [more - original PR]