DUBAI: Budget carrier Air Arabia, the United Arab Emirates’ only publicly listed carrier, reported a 12 percent rise in fourth-quarter net profit yesterday on the back of increased passenger traffic.
The Sharjah-based carrier made a net profit of Dh94m ($25.6m) in the fourth quarter, compared with Dh84m in the corresponding period of 2012, the company said in an emailed statement.
Three analysts surveyed by Reuters had expected Air Arabia to boost its quarterly profit by 20.5 percent on average, although their forecasts were based on a slightly different figure that excludes profit taken by minority shareholders in the firm’s subsidiaries. Air Arabia’s annual profit rose two percent to Dh435m.
The airline carried over 1.5 million passengers in the fourth quarter of 2013, an increase of 15 percent year-on-year.
Reuters
