Qatar Airways Cargo experienced a 12.9% increase in cargo volumes, reaching 3 million tonnes in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2024. Despite this growth, revenues declined by 25.8% year-on-year, totaling QAR 15.3 billion. This revenue decrease reflects a broader market trend of falling airfreight rates due to weakened demand and increased passenger capacity post-COVID-19.
Factors Affecting Financial Performance:
- Revenue Decline: Overall airfreight rates dropped as demand softened and extra passenger capacity re-entered the market.
- Volume Increase: The reintroduction of belly capacity and new freighter services contributed to the volume rise.
Expansion and Network Enhancements:
- New Freighter Services: Qatar Airways Cargo launched services to various destinations, including Algiers, Bogota, Dallas Fort Worth, Dammam, Miami, Sharjah, and Warsaw.
- Middle East: Network revamp introduced new and resumed destinations and increased frequencies to Dubai and Riyadh, and opened services to Sharjah.
- Europe: Expanded footprint in Amsterdam and Frankfurt by adding weekly frequencies.
- Asia: Enhanced presence to serve e-commerce customers, with added services to Macau and charter operations to China.
Fleet Adjustments:
- Freighter Fleet: Offloaded two Boeing 747 freighters and now operates 28 Boeing 777-200Fs, with the latest addition in April 2024.
- Passenger Belly Cargo Flights: Added new destinations including Chengdu, Chongqing, Tokyo Haneda, Osaka, Lyon, Nice, Toulouse, Marrakech, Penang, and Phnom Penh.
Leadership Changes:
- New Head of Cargo: Mark Drusch was appointed in February 2024.
Overall Airline Performance:
Qatar Airways reported a full-year net profit of QR6.1 billion ($1.7 billion), a 40% increase on revenues of QR81 billion. This marks a record performance for the airline.
- Passenger Numbers: Increased by over 25%, surpassing 40 million passengers with a load factor of 83%.
- Fleet Expansion: Added 25 new aircraft, bringing the total fleet to 284. New additions included:
- Seven Boeing 787-9s
- Five Airbus A350-1000s
- Three 777-300ERs
- Nine 737 Max 8s
- One 777 freighter
- Network Growth: Expanded to over 170 destinations with new services and restoration of operations to several cities.
Strategic Focus:
Qatar Airways’ CEO Badr Mohammad Al-Meer emphasized the company’s strategic focus on profitability, efficiency, and customer experience, underpinning the highest revenues and profit margins in the airline’s history. The group’s network growth and fleet expansion were key contributors to this success.
This summary highlights Qatar Airways Cargo’s operational achievements and financial challenges during the fiscal year, reflecting its strategic initiatives to enhance global connectivity and market presence.