Air Arabia profits down 12% in Q2

Low-cost Emirati carrier Air Arabia announced Wednesday its net profits fell 12 percent in the second quarter of 2015 to 152 million dirhams ($41 million, 37.6 million euros) from a year earlier.

Net profits for the first six months dropped four percent to 237 million dirhams ($64 million/58.7 million euros), the largest budget airline in the Middle East and North Africa said.

It said the decline was mainly the result of "pressured yield margins due to market conditions as well as a number of strategic investments made by the airline in first half 2015".

First-half turnover reached 1.75 billion dirhams ($475 million/435.8 million euros), almost unchanged from last year, while passenger numbers rose nine percent to 3.6 million.

Based in Sharjah, one of seven emirates in the UAE, Air Arabia was launched in October 2003 and has hubs in Morocco, Egypt and Jordan. It has a fleet of 41 Airbus A320s serving 115 destinations.