Flynas returns to profit as fuel costs surge 51%, earnings drop 77.5%
Flynas posted a third-quarter net profit of 27 million riyals, down 77.5% year-on-year.
· Last verified: 4 Nov 2026 (Saudi Exchange (Tadawul) — flynas disclosure)
Summary
- Flynas posted a third-quarter net profit of 27 million riyals, down 77.5% year-on-year.
- Jet fuel, its largest cost item, climbed 51% to 666 million riyals since March's regional conflict.
- The quarter reverses a 241-million-riyal second-quarter loss, narrowing nine-month losses to 96 million.
The latest
Saudi low-cost carrier flynas swung back to profit in the third quarter of 2026, reporting net income of 27 million riyals after a 241-million-riyal loss in the second quarter. Revenue rose 6.5% to 2.23 billion riyals. But earnings fell 77.5% from a year earlier, with the airline pointing to jet fuel costs that have stayed elevated since the regional conflict began in early March.
Details
- The headline number: Net profit attributable to shareholders reached 27,004,715 riyals in the third quarter, against 120,216,550 riyals in the same quarter of 2025, a decline of 77.536%, according to the company's disclosure to the Saudi Exchange filed on 4 November under ticker 4264.
- Revenue: Sales rose 6.472% year-on-year to 2,226,106,730 riyals, and edged up 0.601% from the second quarter's 2,212,794,580 riyals. The airline attributed the increase to higher unit revenue across its network.
- The fuel squeeze: Cost of revenue rose 11% to 1,916 million riyals. Fuel remained the single largest cost component at 666 million riyals, up 51%, which the company tied to jet fuel prices that have stayed high since the regional conflict started in early March 2026.
- Margins compressed: Gross profit fell 16.676% to 310,325,111 riyals, while operating profit dropped 36.597% to 164,416,632 riyals. Both figures still mark a sharp recovery from the second quarter, when the carrier booked an operating loss of 109,835,205 riyals.
- Segment split: Flynas reports across three units. Low-cost revenue rose 9% year-on-year to 2,170 million riyals. Hajj revenue fell 67% to 19 million riyals because the 2026 season closed in the second quarter, while the 2025 season extended into the third.
- The capacity story: Available seat kilometres returned largely to year-earlier levels after falling 15% in the second quarter. That recovery lifted low-cost revenue from 1,626 million riyals in the prior quarter to 2,170 million, alongside what the company described as a focus on non-fuel cost efficiency.
- Nine-month picture: Nine-month revenue rose 6.288% to 6,444,446,666 riyals. The net loss narrowed 83.904% to 95,677,948 riyals from 594,430,019 riyals, though the prior-year figure included one-off IPO expenses of 1,083 million riyals; excluding those, 2025 showed an adjusted profit of 489 million riyals.
- One-off comparison: The year-earlier quarter benefited from a 33-million-riyal sale-and-leaseback gain that was not repeated. The nine-month 2025 results carried 63 million riyals of such gains, flattering the comparison base for both periods.
- Balance sheet and per-share: Total equity slipped 1.008% to 3,461,315,526 riyals. Loss per share narrowed sharply to 0.56 riyals for the nine months from 3.69 riyals a year earlier. The auditor issued an unmodified opinion on the results.
Background
Flynas listed on the Saudi Exchange in 2025, booking 1,083 million riyals in one-off IPO expenses that pushed its nine-month 2025 accounts into a reported loss despite an adjusted profit. The regional conflict that began in the first quarter of 2026 lifted fuel prices and pressured demand.
Between the lines
The company's own framing separates two shocks. Capacity, not pricing, drove the second-quarter loss, and its recovery explains most of the swing back to profit. Fuel is the unresolved drag: a 51% increase in the largest cost line absorbed the revenue gain and cut earnings by more than three quarters. With no Hajj revenue to offset it this quarter, the low-cost unit carried the result alone.
What's next
Flynas scheduled a financial disclosure conference with analysts and investors for Wednesday, 4 November 2026 at 4:00 pm Riyadh time. Fourth-quarter results will show whether fuel costs stay elevated and whether capacity holds at year-earlier levels.