Athens: Greece’s largest airline Aegean reported a 53 per cent drop in 2016 net profit on Thursday, as a weak second quarter and higher value-added tax (VAT) outweighed a rise in sales beyond the €1 billion (Dh3.9 billion) mark. Aegean Airlines said it made net earnings of €32.2 million ($34.8 million) last year, down from 68.4 million in 2015. Group sales grew 4 per cent to €1.02 billion. Aegean said its board would propose a dividend per share of €0.4, down from €0.7 on 2015 results.