Qatar Airways is delaying plans to launch its initial public offering (IPO) by eight years due to the current global economic situation.

Initially, the airline had planned to launch its IPO in 2012, which was then pushed back to 2013 to follow three consecutive years of profit.

Akbar al-Baker, chief executive of Qatar Airways has attributed the delay in launching an IPO to the recovery of the economic downturn, the impact of the Arab uprisings and high fuel prices. Al-Baker says that he expects profit to decline during the financial year ending 31 March.

Net profit for the 2009/10 financial year stood at $205m and more than $230m for the following financial year. Qatar Airways still expects to report revenues of about $6bn for the current financial year.