Air Arabia second quarter net profit more than doubles

Dubai: Budget carrier Air Arabia reported on Saturday that its second-quarter net profit more than doubled, beating analyst forecasts, as passengers numbers increased and the airline manages costs.

The airline said it has a second quarter net profit of Dh173 million ($47.1 million) for the quarter ended June 30, up from Dh76 million in the corresponding period in 2013.

Analysts polled by Reuters had forecast profit of Dh123.1 million for the period.

Revenue for the quarter rose 15 per cent to Dh915 million, it said in a statement.

The airline served over 1.6 million passengers in the quarter, an increase of 8 per cent year-on-year.

Sharjah-based Air Arabia is the only publicly listed carrier operating out of the UAE.