UAE’s Air Arabia Q3 Profit Up 22%, Beats Forecasts

UAE budget carrier Air Arabia reported a 22 per cent rise in third-quarter net profit on Tuesday, beating analyst forecasts as passenger numbers increased.

The airline said it made a net profit of Dhs247.4 million ($74.71 million) for the period ended Sept 30, up from Dhs202.7 million a year-ago, according to a bourse filing.

Analyst polled by Reuters on average forecast Air Arabia would make a quarterly profit of Dhs182 million.

The company’s third-quarter revenue rose 25 per cent to Dhs1.06 billion from a year earlier as passenger numbers increased by 15 per cent to about 1.75 million over the same period.

Air Arabia also has hubs in Egypt and Morocco and flies about 100 routes. It competes with other regional low cost carriers such as flydubai and Kuwait’s Jazeera Airways .

“Despite ongoing political uncertainty in parts of the region adding to the challenge presented by fluctuating trend in fuel prices we remain highly confident about the long-term prospects for the industry in the MENA region,” Air Arabia chairman Sheikh Abdullah bin Mohammed al-Thani said in the statement.