MEA profits flat so far

No plans for initial public shares offering soon

Middle East Airlines (MEA) aims to achieve financial results in 2012 similar to those posted last year, said Mohamad Hout, CEO of MEA. The national flag carrier attained operating results of $40 million in 2011, down by around 60 percent from 2010.

The company’s revenues stood at $637 million, representing some three percent of the total revenues achieve by the 12 members of the Arab Air Carriers Organization. “The MEA hopes to see similar results this year amid a severe drop in the number of tourists from the Gulf countries,” Hout said. He said that up to November the company had seen a flat performance in income.

According to Hout, the MEA’s financials are not expected to see much improvement in 2013 in light of local and regional instability. He said there are no current plans for an initial public offering of 25 percent of the company’s shares. The Central Bank is the majority shareholder of MEA.