Abu Dhabi Airport operating profit rises

Abu Dhabi Airports said its operating profit rose 65 per cent from January to August compared to the same period last year, boosted by higher passenger spending on duty free goods and other services. The gain comes despite the challenging conditions facing the aviation industry regionally.

“We are very proud of our performance this year,” said Abdul Al Khoori, the acting chief executive of Abu Dhabi Airports.

“Abu Dhabi Airports’ mission and goals revolve around a highly effective and efficient management of resources and manpower to maintain a positive trend in profit growth. Supported by planning a smart and versatile strategy, we were able to turn challenges into opportunities and register record achievements in all aspects of our business.”

Abu Dhabi Airports, owned wholly by the government of Abu Dhabi, did not give the value of the operating profit, nor did it give net profit for the period. The company said operating expenditure rose 11 per cent in the January to August period compared with the same period last year, as the management spent on operational requirements as well as a rise in third-party services.

“Abu Dhabi Airports is committed to utilising all resources and manpower available to increase its efficiency and profitability,” Mr Al Khoori said.

Etihad, Abu Dhabi’s flagship carrier, said in July it recorded a US$1.87 billion loss in 2016 after a one-off impairment on aircraft and equity investments in partner airlines Alitalia and AirBerlin outweighed growth of passengers to a record.

Etihad said an increase in competition in the airline business globally as well as slowdown in economic growth regionally weighed on results in addition to losses related to fuel hedging.

Despite these challenges passengers carried by the airline rose to 18.5 million last year and total revenues fell only marginally.