Dubai: Etihad Airways reported on Thursday a 17.7 per cent increase in net profit for the financial year ending December 31, 2014, which it said was largely driven by its strategy of investing in other airlines.
The Abu Dhabi-based airline made $73 million (Dh268 million) in 2014, according to an emailed statement, compared to the $62 million profit in previously reported for 2013. Revenues were $7.6 billion, up 24.5 per cent compared to the $6.1 billion it reported for 2013.
Etihad’s strategy of codeshares and buying up stakes in other carriers was “a key driver” for growth, contributing $1.129 billion in revenue, up 37.7 per cent. The airline, one of the most rapidly expanding in the world, held stakes in seven airlines as of December 31, 2014 after finalising deals for Air Serbia and Italy’s Alitalia last year.
John Strickland, Director of UK-based JLS Consulting, said by email that “overall profitability is low relatively to turnover and reflects the pace of expansion”.
The airline carried 14.8 million passengers in 2014, a 28.69 per cent increase on the 11.5 million passengers it said it carried in 2013. Etihad’s load factor, or percentage of seats filled, for 2014 was 79.2 per cent, 1.2 percentage points more than in 2013.
“The airline still needs to make progress on turning around its major investments in Alitalia and Air Berlin so that they become strong future contributors to profitability. This is not the case today,” Strickland stated.
Etihad’s fleet increased by 21 to 110 aircraft including the delivery of its first Airbus A380, which features its $20,000 Abu Dhabi to London three-room suite “The Residence”, and its first Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
