Air Arabia increases dividend payout

Air Arabia has increased its dividend payout for last year. The Sharjah-based airline will pay a cash dividend of 6 fils per share, after net profit rose to Dh78.7 million, an increase of 7% from the year-earlier period. Air Arabia’s board on February 25 proposed a dividend of 4.5 per cent of capital, equivalent to 4.5 fils per share. The dividend payment translates into a yield of 8.5%. Air Arabia has historically paid high dividends, including 10% last year. The airline aims to achieve passenger growth of about 7-8% this year, while it carried 4.7 million passengers last year, an