Kenya Airways aims to attract strategic partner as it turns in profitable full year

Kenya Airways is focusing on completing a capital restructuring, to reduce leverage, and increasing liquidity after it turned in a full-year net profit of KShs5.4b ($41.7m). CE Allan Kilavuka says the company is still seeking a strategic investor in order to ensure long-term sustainability. “Our turnaround strategy is yielding positive results,” he states, insisting that the airline is an “attractive investment” for a strategic partner. Kenya Airways says it will invest to expand its fleet – it introduced two freighters last year – and modernise the cabins of its passenger aircraft. It says the financial performance reflects a “remarkable” improvement from the previous year’s loss of KShs22.6b. The company attributes the achievement to its ‘Project Kifaru’ strategy, which has helped lift revenues by 6% to KShs188.5b and generate a near-60% hike in operating profit to KShs16.6b. Kenya Airways says the opening of services to a number of destinations – including Mogadishu, Eldoret and Maputo – as well as increasing frequencies has contributed to the revenue growth. “Other initiatives undertaken by the management included partnerships with other airlines as well as cost-containment measures,” it says.<br/>