Sharjah-based Air Arabia has registered a net profit of Dh158 million ($43 million) for the second quarter - an increase of 21 per cent compared to Dh131 million ($35.6 million) reported for the same period last year.
The company’s turnover for the second quarter of 2017 increased to Dh906 million ($246.6 million), compared to Dh894 million ($243.3 million) in the corresponding period last year. Air Arabia served over 2.05 million passengers in the second quarter of 2017, while the average seat load factor – or passengers carried as a percentage of available seats – for the same quarter stood at an impressive 79 per cent.
Sheikh Abdullah Bin Mohammad Al Thani, chairman of Air Arabia, said: “Air Arabia’s strong second quarter financial performance is a testament to the carrier’s operational efficiency and robust growth strategy. Despite the continuous pressure on yield margins, which is driven by the market and the economic environment, Air Arabia managed to register a solid second quarter net profit backed by the carrier’s cost control measures, operational efficiency and combined with its momentum growth”.
Air Arabia’s net profit for the first six months of 2017 stood at Dh261 million ($71.04 million), up 7 per cent compared to the corresponding period of 2016 while the turnover for the first six months of this year reached Dh1.716 billion ($467 million). The low-cost aviation pioneer served over 4.1 million passengers in the first six months of 2017 while the average seat load factor – or passengers carried as a percentage of available seats – for the same period stood at an impressive 79 per cent.
“The first half of this year have seen Air Arabia continue its robust growth by launching new routes and increasing capacity across its operating hubs while remaining focused on driving operating cost margins lower by the day,” Al Thani said.
Air Arabia received two new Airbus A320 aircraft in the first half of 2017 ending June 30 and added 12 new routes from its five operating hubs in the UAE, Morocco, Egypt and Jordan. Air Arabia currently serves a global destination network of 130 routes across the world.
He concluded: “We are confident about the appeal of low cost travel in general and Air Arabia services in particular across the markets we operate in. As we continue to further expand our reach and network, we remain focused on operational efficiency, cost control as well as delivering even more value for money air travel to our customers.” - TradeArabia News Service