Qatar Airways posts 39% jump in annual profit to record $1.67 billion

FILE PHOTO: A Qatar Airways Airbus A350-900 aircraft takes off in Colomiers near Toulouse, France, October 19, 2017. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau/File Photo

DUBAI (Reuters) - Qatar Airways posted a 39% jump in annual net profit to a record 6.1 billion Qatari riyals ($1.67 billion) on Tuesday.

Revenue grew by 6% to 81 billion riyals in the year ended March 31, the government-owned airline said.

It carried more than 40 million passengers and recorded a load factor of 83%.

"Our continued focus on profitability, efficiency and customer experience have been underpinned by a strategic programme of network growth and fleet expansion, resulting in the highest revenues and profit margins in the history of the airline", CEO Badr Mohammed Al-Meer was quoted as saying in a statement from the airline.

Demand for air travel has rebounded since the pandemic, but airlines have been constrained as planemakers struggle to get back to previous production levels due to disrupted supply chains and a safety crisis at Boeing.

In May, Al-Meer said aircraft manufacturers like Airbus and Boeing needed to put more pressure on their suppliers to reduce delivery delays.

The airline last month announced it was in talks with the two planemakers regarding a major wide-body order.

The carrier is also in talks to buy a stake of up to 20% in Bain Capital-owned Virgin Australia, according to a report last week.

($1 = 3.6445 Qatar riyals)

(Reporting by Federico Maccioni; editing by Jason Neely)