LE BOURGET, France—The chief executive of Qatar Airways said on
Monday that the airline made a net profit of $103 million in its
last financial year, disclosing for the first time a figure for its
annual earnings, which are being closely watched by carriers in
U.S.
The government-owned airline does not publish full audited
financial results but has repeatedly said that it will report ear
nings amid claims by U.S. carriers that it is subsidized by its
gas-rich owners.
"We are not afraid to [publish earnings] we are a private
company," Akbar Al Baker said in an interview. "But I can tell you
our last year profit for the financial year was $103 million."
Qatar Airways is one of three Persian Gulf-based carriers,
including Dubai's Emirates and Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways,
facing hostility from international peers. The three major U.S.
carriers—Delta Air Lines Inc., United Continental Holdings Inc. and
American Airlines—and their European counterparts—Air France-KLM
and Deutsche Lufthansa AG—claim that the Gulf airlines are
subsidized by their state owners, and are calling on their own
governments to limit the airlines' access to new markets.
Qatar and Etihad have also been accused of lacking transparency
as they don't publish full audited financials.
In a short statement last month, Etihad said that it recorded a
net profit of $73 million in its last financial year. Emirates
reported a net profit of $1.2 billion on revenues of $24.2
billion.
Mr. Al Baker did not disclose revenues earned at Qatar Airways
in its financial year, which runs from April through to the end of
March.
The Gulf airlines have responded to the U.S. carriers by stating
that the American companies have received billions of dollars in
subsidies.
The back-and-forth claims have led to a war of words between the
chief executives of the respective carriers, particularly Mr. Al
Baker and Delta chief Richard Anderson, who has been vocal about
the Gulf airlines expansion.
Write to Rory Jones at rory.jones@wsj.com
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