Kenya Airways issues profit warning as supply chain snags ground widebody fleet

November 28, 2025 in Business, Companies by Editor

Kenya Airways has issued a profit warning, projecting earnings for the year ending December 31, 2025 will fall by about 25pc, as supply chain disruptions continue to squeeze the flag carrier’s operations.

In a statutory notice to shareholders, the airline said three of its Boeing 787-8 aircraft — the equivalent of 33pcof its widebody capacity- remain grounded due to parts shortages. The bottlenecks, coupled with a tighter global aircraft market that is making leasing difficult, have reduced available seats and weakened passenger numbers.

“This has significantly impacted the airline’s performance due to reduction in capacity and drop in passenger numbers,” the carrier noted.

The warning marks a reversal from the company’s stronger footing in 2024, when Kenya Airways posted a pre-tax profit of USD 42.82 million — its first return to profitability after more than a decade in the red. That improvement had been underpinned by foreign-exchange gains as the Kenyan shilling strengthened sharply against the dollar, alongside higher revenues and lower operating costs.

Operating profit rose to KSh 16.62 billion in 2024, up from KSh 10.53 billion the previous year, while forex gains of KSh 10.55 billion helped cushion longstanding debt pressures.

Kenya Airways fell into deep financial distress in the aftermath of the 2014–2016 West African Ebola outbreak, which disrupted travel demand across the continent and hit the airline’s route network just as it was undertaking an aggressive expansion plan. The resulting downturn compounded the carrier’s debt burden and set the stage for the insolvency declared in 2018.

The COVID-19 shock, a weakened shilling, and rising borrowing costs further strained its balance sheet, prompting repeated government interventions — including a USD150 million loan repayment by the state earlier this year.

During the 2024 results announcement in March, board chairman Michael Joseph said that improvements at Nairobi’s overstretched Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, alongside fleet expansion, would be critical to stabilising future performance.