Air Arabia, a Sharjah-based low-cost airline, today announced strong financial results for the second quarter of this year ending 30th June, 2017.

The company registered a net profit of AED158 million, an increase of 21 percent compared to the AED131 million reported for the same period last year, according to the financial results.

The turnover increased to AED 906 million, compared to AED 894 million in the corresponding period last year. Air Arabia served over 2.05 million passengers, while the average seat load factor, or passengers carried as a percentage of available seats, stood at an impressive 79 percent.

Sheikh Abdullah Bin Mohammad Al Thani, Chairman of Air Arabia said, "Air Arabia’s strong second quarter financial performance is a testament to the carrier’s operational efficiency and robust growth strategy. Despite the continuous pressure on yield margins, which is driven by the market and the economic environment, Air Arabia managed to register a solid second quarter net profit backed by the carrier’s cost control measures, operational efficiency and combined with its momentum growth."

Air Arabia’s net profit for the first six months of 2017 stood at AED 261 million, up 7 percent compared to the corresponding period of 2016 while the turnover for the first six months of this year reached AED 1.716 billion. The airline served over 4.1 million passengers during the period.

"The first half of this year have seen Air Arabia continue its robust growth by launching new routes and increasing capacity across its operating hubs while remaining focused on driving operating cost margins lower by the day," Al Thani continued.

Air Arabia received two new Airbus A320 aircraft and added 12 new routes from its five operating hubs in the UAE, Morocco, Egypt and Jordan. Air Arabia currently serves a global destination network of 130 routes across the world.