Air Arabia Q3 profit soars 22 per cent

UAE budget carrier Air Arabia reported a 22 per cent rise in third-quarter net profit on Tuesday, beating analyst forecasts as passenger numbers increased.

The airline said it made a net profit of Dh247.4 million ($74.71m) for the period ended September 30, up from Dh202.7m a year-ago, according to a bourse filing.

Analyst polled by Reuters on average forecast Air Arabia would make a quarterly profit of Dh182 million.

The DFM-listed firm’s shares were up nearly 1.5 per cent in the morning trade.

The company's third-quarter revenue rose 25 per cent to Dh1.06 billion from a year earlier as passenger numbers increased by 15 per cent to about 1.75m over the same period.

Air Arabia also has hubs in Egypt and Morocco and flies about 100 routes. It competes with other regional low cost carriers such as Flydubai and Kuwait's Jazeera Airways.

“Despite ongoing political uncertainty in parts of the region adding to the challenge presented by fluctuating trend in fuel prices we remain highly confident about the long-term prospects for the industry in the Mena region,” Air Arabia chairman Sheikh Abdullah bin Mohammed Al Thani said in the statement.

Air Arabia’s net profit for the first nine months of 2014 rose 46 per cent to Dh498 million compared to Dh341 million reported in the corresponding period of 2013.

For the nine months ending September 30, 2014, the airline posted a turnover of Dh2.8 billion, an increase of 17 per cent compared to Dh2.4 billion in the same period of 2013. The low-cost airline carried over 5.1 million passengers in the first nine month of 2014, a 13 per cent year-on-year increase. The average seat load factor stood at 82 per cent.

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