Air Arabia's first quarter net profit soars to AED 43.4 million

The announcement was made by Adel Ali, Chief Executive Officer of Air Arabia, on the sidelines of the Arabian Travel Market, an industry trade fair, in Dubai.

Air Arabia's net profit for the three months ending March 31, 2007, stood at AED 43.4 million. For the same period, the company posted a turnover of AED 252 million. The airline served 580,000 passengers during the same period.

The company's net profit increased 33 per cent between the fourth quarter of 2006 and the first quarter of 2007. During the same period, passenger traffic increased 17 per cent.

Adel Ali said:

"We are extremely pleased to post such strong results for the first quarter of this year, which is historically a low season for the industry. At a time when Air Arabia is in full expansion mode - including more flights and destinations and new ancillary services - we are proud that our financial fundamentals remain on a strong upward trend. Following our landmark IPO, the company looks forward to investing in an even stronger future, providing the wide range of services that our millions of loyal customers have come to expect."

He added: "Today's announcement underscores Air Arabia's strong business model and operational excellence. We have made a string of significant announcements so far this year, including new routes across the region, the launch of a new 3-star hotel at Sharjah Airport, and the formation of joint venture companies to improve aircraft maintenance and aviation services at our home base in Sharjah. We will continue to launch new and innovative services in the months to come."

The company's net profit for 2006 stood at AED 101 million, up 222 per cent compared to AED 31.3 million in 2005. For the same period, the company posted a turnover of AED 749.16 million, up 82 per cent compared to AED 411 million in 2005.

The Sharjah-based low-cost carrier, which recently successfully concluded an AED 2.5 billion IPO, will shortly list its shares on the Dubai Financial Market. The company intends to use the proceeds from the offering, in addition to bank financing, to expand the size of its existing fleet from nine to at least 34 aircraft by 2016. In addition, Air Arabia aims to expand its scope of operations and invest in the infrastructure associated with the fleet expansion.