Qatar Airways delays IPO amid global economic woes

Qatar Airways, the Gulf Arab state's flagship carrier, has postpones its planned initial public offering (IPO), according to a report on Thursday. A person familiar with the matter told Dow Jones Newswire that Qatar Airways made the decision amid the fresh uncertainty currently prevailing in global markets. Akbar Al Baker, the airline’s chief executive said in Sofia that the IPO had been shelved due to the current economic climate, the newswire added. Qatar Airways launched flights between Doha and the Bulgarian capital Sofia on Wednesday. Earlier in June, Al Baker had said that the carrier was considering a float in 2011. "It could be this year. The more market share we gain, the timeline moves forward," Akbar Al Baker told reporters, adding that the airline had appointed advisors but declined to name them. "It will definitely be earlier than people expect." In December last year, the company indicated it was planning an IPO in early 2012 after three consecutive years of profit."We made [net profit] of $205m for the 2009/2010 fiscal year and over $230m in 2010/2011. For the current fiscal year, my revenue is more than $6.5bn. This is why we are preparing the IPO," he said.Qatar Airways plans to serve 120 destinations worldwide by 2013, with a fleet of more than 120 aircraft.