Dubai – Mubasher: Air Arabia, the Middle East and North Africa’s first and largest low-cost carrier, reported an 80% hike in net profits to around AED 1 billion in 2019 from AED 579.163 million in 2018, according to the company’s financial results for 2019.
The profits excluded the impairment accounting treatment that the company took in 2018.
The company’s positive performance resulted from solid growth in passenger demand with a 10% increase in the number of passengers served by Air Arabia in its four hubs in the UAE, Morocco, and Egypt to over 12 million in 2019 from 11 million in the earlier year.
The carrier’s revenues reached AED 4.758 billion in 2019, up from AED 4.121 billion in the prior year.
Meanwhile, the earnings per share (EPS) stood at AED 0.21 last year, compared to AED 0.13 in 2018.
At the same time, the company’s board recommended to distribute cash dividends of 9% of share capital or 9 fils per share for fiscal year 2019.
The chairman of Air Arabia, Sheikh Abdullah bin Mohammad Al Thani, said: “The global economy endured a slowdown in key international markets while escalating geo-political pressures continued to impact the trading environment. Despite all that, we are proud that Air Arabia managed to deliver a track record year in its young history and to cross, for the first time, the AED 1 billion mark in profitability.”
Al Thani added: “Our focus on expanding into new markets combined with improved operational efficiencies have led to another year of sustained growth and profitability for the airline.”
It is noteworthy to mention that during the third quarter of 2019, the net profits surged by 57% to AED 471 million from AED 300 million in Q3-18.
