Etihad Airways, UAE’s national airline, has reported a 52 per cent rise in its annual profit, reaching $73 million from $48 million a year earlier, the carrier said in an emailed statement on Thursday.

With higher passenger numbers and increased revenue from cargo and partner airlines, the airline's annual revenue rose 27 per cent to $7.6 billion.

The government-owned carrier also recorded a 19 per cent increase in cargo revenue to $1.11 billion and a 38 per cent rise in revenue from partner airlines to $1.13 billion.

Unlike Dubai-based rival Emirates, Etihad has based part of its expansion on investing in other carriers and owns minority stakes in Air Serbia, Ireland's Aer Lingus and India's Jet Airways among others.

This strategy has boosted sales and marketing opportunities in key markets, as well as significant cost savings, Etihad said in the statement, adding that its network reaches about 500 destinations, making it the largest Middle East carrier.

The airline launched services to 10 new destinations last year, including Los Angeles and San Francisco, while increasing capacity on 23 existing routes.

Etihad flew 14.8 million passengers in 2014, up 22 per cent year on year, while seat occupancy rose 1.2 percentage points to 79.2 per cent over the same period.

The airline has about 200 aircraft on order, plus options and purchase rights for a further 66. It plans to add 16 new planes to its fleet in 2015. - Reuters