Air Arabia delivers 2015 net profit of AED 531 million

Air Arabia (PJSC) today revealed strong full-year financial results for 2015 as the Middle East and North Africa's first and biggest inexpensive provider remained to provide healthy growth and strong levels of success.

Air Arabia's net profit for the full year ending December 31, 2015 was AED 531 million, 6 per cent lower than 2014 figure of AED 566 million. More than 7.6 million passengers flew with Air Arabia in 2015, a 12 per cent year-on-year increase.

Following its strong 2015 efficiency, Air Arabia's Board of Directors recommended a dividend distribution of 9 per cent of share capital, which is equivalent to 9 fils per share. This proposal was made following a meeting of the Board of Directors of Air Arabia and undergoes ratification by Air Arabia's shareholders at the business's upcoming Annual General Meeting on February 25, 2016.

"2015 was a year of growth and achievement for Air Arabia as our expansion strategy, effective operations and tight expense controls enhanced our market leading position," stated Sheikh Abdullah Bin Mohammad Al Thani, Chairman of Air Arabia. "The impact of low oil costs continues to have its effect on the larger worldwide economy, while pressure on yields and geo-political unpredictability remained to weigh on the air travel industry. Regardless of these difficulties, Air Arabia once again delivered a strong set of numbers and remains well positioned for more growth in 2016.".

Air Arabia included 23 paths to its network in 2015, including the considerable achievement of becoming the very first affordable airline from the Middle East and Africa to get in the Chinese market with the launch of regular non-stop services to Urumqi, the largest city in Western China.

The airline company likewise added a fifth international center with the development of "Air Arabia Jordan" and the opening of a fixed-based operation at Amman Queen Alia International Airport.

Sheikh Abdullah Bin Mohammad Al Thani included: "Going forward, we will remain focused on ceaselessly delivering on our pledge to assist individuals fly more for less, with development and functional effectiveness at the heart of our business.".

Customer retention was increased in 2015 with the launch of Airewards, the first loyalty program from a local low-cost provider. It offers the same simple, transparent and value-packed experience that clients connect with Air Arabia, with points based upon money invested rather than distance flown, and able to be earned on any service or product purchased from the airline company.
In the 4th quarter of 2015, Air Arabia reported a net profit of AED 59 million, 13 percent less than the matching 2014 figure of AED 68 million. Turnover for the 3 months ending December 31, 2015, was AED 957 million, compared with AED 924 million in the very same duration in 2014, a boost of 4 percent. Air Arabia flew 2 million passengers in the final quarter of 2015, up 17 % on the matching 2014 figure.

Among the awards won by Air Arabia in 2015 were "World Travel Leaders Award" at the World Travel Market 2015 in the United Kingdom, "Best Low-cost Airline in the Middle East" at the Skytrax World Airline Awards in France, "Best Low-Cost Carrier" at the 2015 World Tourism Forum Awards in Turkey, "Airline of Year" at the Aviation Business Awards, and "Award for Customer Innovation" at the very first Aviation Achievement Awards.

A highly effective year was then capped when data from Google exposed Air Arabia was the airline most looked for by UAE users in 2015, showing the strength of the airline company's online existence and item offering to its customers.