Air Arabia Q4 Net Profit Rises 12%

Budget carrier Air Arabia , the United Arab Emirates’ only publicly listed carrier, reported a 12 per cent rise in fourth-quarter net profit on Monday on the back of increased passenger traffic.

The Sharjah-based carrier made a net profit of Dhs94 million($25.6 million) in the fourth quarter, compared with Dhs84 million 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 per cent 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 per cent to Dhs435 million.

The airline carried over 1.5 million passengers in the fourth quarter of 2013, an increase of 15 per cent year-on-year. Full-year traffic rose also 15 per cent to 6.1 million passengers.

Air Arabia said its directors had proposed a 7.25 per cent cash dividend.