Air Arabia reports strong results in first half

Muscat: Air Arabia announced strong financial results for the first half ending June 30, 2018 as the Middle East and North Africa’s first and largest low-cost carrier continued to deliver solid and sustained financial performance.

Air Arabia reported a net profit of AED230 million for the first half ending June 30, 2018; a 12 per cent less than the AED261 million reported for the same period last year. The company’s turnover for the first six months of 2018 reached AED1.82 billion, an increase of 6 per cent compared to AED1.72 billion in the corresponding period last year. 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 month of 2018 — passengers carried as a percentage of available seats — stood at impressive 79 per cent.

"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.” Sheikh Abdullah Bin Mohamed Al Thani, Chairman of Air Arabia said.



“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,” he added.

The company’s turnover in the second quarter ending June 30, 2018 reached AED938 million, a 4 per cent increase compared to the same period of 2017. Net profit during the second quarter 2018 stood at AED120 million, a 24 per cent less than the corresponding period of 2017. Air Arabia flew over 2.05 million passengers in the second quarter ending June 30, 2018 and the airline’s average seat load factor for the same period stood at a high 78 per cent.

“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,” he said.

Times of Oman Contribution Time: 12-Aug-2018 06:13 (GMT)
Times of Oman Last Update Time: 12-Aug-2018 06:13 (GMT)