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Dubai: Sharjah-based budget airline Air Arabia yesterday reported a 39 per cent increase in its half-yearly net profit despite the rising cost of fuel that is depressing the airline industry.
The company's profit for the January-June period was Dh160 million, compared to Dh115 million for the same period last year.
Its second-quarter profit was Dh82 million, up 14 per cent over the second quarter of 2007.
The Middle East's largest low-cost carrier reported first-half revenues of Dh871 million, 70 per cent more than its half-year turnover last year.
Turnover for the second quarter was Dh487 million, up 79 per cent over for the second quarter of 2007.
"During a period of unprecedented challenges for the global aviation industry as a result of the continuously soaring oil prices, we are proud of these results, which demonstrate Air Arabia's ability to continue to deliver sustained growth and excellent returns to our investors," chairman Shaikh Abdullah Bin Mohammad Al Thani said in a statement.
Fuel cost
The airline's fuel cost during the second quarter was Dh223.4 million, almost 50 per cent more than the previous quarter of this year.
Air Arabia added four planes this year to its all-A320 fleet, taking the number of aircraft to 15. It has 49 new Airbus planes on order and expects their delivery to begin by 2011 or 2012.
It flew 1.6 million passengers during the first half of 2008, compared to 1.2 million between January and June last year. It carried 866,272 passengers in the second quarter this year, up 34 per cent over the corresponding period in 2007.
The airline said its average load factor, or the ratio of seats filled, stood at 86 per cent between January and June, up 3.6 per cent compared to the same period in 2007.
It also introduced four new destinations in the first six months of this year. The low-cost carrier now operates services to 41 destinations.
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