Air Arabia’s Q2 profit declines 14% to Dh131m

Air Arabia profit in the second quarter of 2016 fell 14 per cent to Dh131 million, putting pressuring on the airline’s yield margin.

The decline in net profit was “driven by regional shift in traffic in the second quarter of 2016 due to the month of Ramadan and the excess in capacity available in the market which is affecting airlines' yield margins,” the low-cost carrier said in a statement on Thursday.

Air Arabia flew over 2 million passengers in the second quarter ending June 30, 2016, increased by 12 per cent compared to the same period of 2015. The airline's average seat load factor for the same period stood at a high 78 per cent.

The company's turnover in the second quarter ending June 30, 2016 reached Dh894 million, an increase of 4 per cent compared to the same period of 2015.

First-half Results

Sharjah-based carrier Air Arabia today reported a net profit of Dh245 million for the first half of 2016 ending June 30, 2016, an increase of 3.5 per cent compared to the Dh237 million reported for the same period last year.

The company's turnover for the first six months of 2016 reached Dh1.84 billion, compared to Dh1.75 billion in the corresponding period last year, an increase of 5.5 per cent.

Sharjah-based carrier flew 4.1 million passengers during the first half of 2016 - up 14 per cent on the corresponding period last year. The airline's average seat load factor for the first six months of 2016 - passengers carried as a percentage of available seats - stood at impressive 79 per cent.

Sheikh Abdullah Bin Mohamed Al Thani, Chairman of Air Arabia, said: "We remain optimistic about the outlook of low-cost travel in the wider region as we continue to focus on further expanding our network and operational efficiency as well as leveraging on emerging travel trends by delivering even more value to our customers."

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