Sunday Times (Sri Lanka)

Air Arabia gets net profit of AED 237 million in first half of 2015

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Air Arabia (PJSC), the first and largest low-cost carrier (LCC) in the Middle East and North Africa, today announced its financial results for the first half of 2015 ending June 30 2015, as the company continues to achieve strong financial results and invest in its long-term growth.

The company?s turnover for the first six months of 2015 reached AED 1.75 billion, in line with the correspond­ing period of 2014. Turnover for the three months ending June 30, 2015, stood at AED 860 million, a 6 per cent less than the same period of 2014. In the first six months of 2015, Air Arabia flew 3.6 million passengers, up 9 per cent on the correspond­ing period of 2014. Similarly, passenger numbers in the three months ending June 30, 2015, increased by 4 per cent to reach 1.8 million.

Net profit during the first half of 2015 reached AED 237 million, while, for the three months ending June 30, 2015, it stood at AED 152 million. These figures are respective­ly 4 per cent and 12 per cent less than the correspond­ing periods of 2014; mainly driven by pressured yield margins due to market conditions as well as a number of strategic investment­s made by the airline in first half 2015 which will begin to fully deliver value in the near future. The airline?s average seat load factor – or passengers carried as a percentage of available seats – during the first half of 2015 stood at a high 79 per cent.

Sheikh Abdullah Bin Mohammad Al Thani, Chairman of Air Arabia, said: “Air Arabia continues to deliver healthy profit levels and strong passenger growth against a backdrop of challengin­g market conditions. The first half 2015 have seen Air Arabia taking major steps in investing in its growth. We have launched „Air Arabia Jordan? following the completion of a strategic acquisitio­n as well as invested in new routes and capacity increase across the group?s operating hubs, which today provides our customer with access to over 115 routes across the world”.

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