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Air Arabia posts H1 net profit of 62.6m

SHARJAH, August 9, 2018

Sharjah-based budget carrier Air Arabia has reported a net profit of Dh230 million ($62.6 million) for the first half of 2018, down 12 per cent compared to Dh261 million ($71 million) reported for the same period last year.

The company’s turnover for the first six months of 2018 reached Dh1.816 billion ($494.3 million), an increase of 6 per cent compared to Dh1.716 billion ($467 million) in the corresponding period last year.

According to a statement released by the company, Air Arabia’s strong profits are registered despite the economic pressure that airlines have witnessed in the second quarter of this year, which was driven by lower yield margins, higher fuel prices and seasonality shift in traffic that the market has experienced.

Marking strong growth in passenger demand, Air Arabia flew 4.2 million passengers during the first half of 2018 and the airline’s average seat load factor for the first six months of 2018 - passengers carried as a percentage of available seats – stood at an impressive 79 per cent.

Sheikh Abdullah Bin Mohamed Al Thani, chairman of Air Arabia, said: “Air Arabia’s strong financial results are a testament to the airline’s robust growth strategy, operational efficiency and unwavering commitment to delivering on its value-added proposition for customers.”

He added: “The global aviation industry had to cope up with pressing economic challenges during the second quarter of this year and we are glad to see Air Arabia continuing to deliver strong financial and operational performance while maintaining its momentum growth across the breadth of its network.”

The company’s turnover in the second quarter reached Dh938 million ($255.3 million), a 4 per cent increase compared to the same period of 2017. Net profit during the second quarter 2018 stood at Dh120 million ($32.6 million), a 24 per cent less than the corresponding period of 2017. Air Arabia flew over 2.05 million passengers in the second quarter and the airline’s average seat load factor for the same period stood at a high 78 per cent.

Al Thani said: “Trading conditions continue to be influenced by the regional geopolitical and economic challenges, however, the outlook of low-cost travel in the region remains very strong. We continue to focus on further expanding our reach and operational efficiency capitalising on the fundamental strength of our business model and the value driven product offering to our customers”.

During the first half of 2018, Air Arabia received three brand new Airbus A320 airplanes bringing its fleet size to 53 aircraft. The carrier added a total of 12 new routes to its global network in the first half of this year. Flights from Air Arabia’s main hub in Sharjah commenced to Moscow Sheremetyevo and Grozny in Russia; Bodrum and Izmir in Turkey; and Qabala in Azerbaijan. The carrier also expanded its operation from its Egypt hub with new flights connecting Alexandria to Milan; Alexandria to Sharm El Sheikh; Sohag to Jeddah and Kuwait; and Sharm El Sheikh to Beirut and Hurghada.

The carrier also expanded domestic operation from its Morocco hub with a new flight connecting Nador with Casablanca. Air Arabia today operates flights to over 150 global destinations in 49 countries from four hubs in the UAE, Morocco, and Egypt. - TradeArabia News Service




Tags: Air Arabia |

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