Air Mauritius swung to a nine-month pre-tax loss and warned that results for the full year ending March 31 would be "significantly impacted" by a worse-than-expected economic environment.
The national carrier said persistent high fuel prices, volatility in the euro/dollar exchange rate and Europe's festering debt crisis were hurting demand in its main markets.
"The current situation is worse than (the) initial forecast and... the Company's results for the Financial Year ending 31 March 2012 will be significantly impacted," it said in a cautionary announcement.
The group posted a EUR€21.1 million (USD$27.8 million) pre-tax loss in the nine months to December 31 compared with a EUR€6.3 million profit during the same period a year earlier, due partly to a 14 percent increase in operating expenses.
"This increase is mainly attributable to a 39 percent average increase in the price of jet fuel," the airline said, adding it would suspend a number of loss-making routes.
