Etihad profit more than triples to almost $500 million ahead of expected IPO

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By Federico Maccioni and Hadeel Al Sayegh

DUBAI (Reuters) – Etihad Airways more than tripled its net profit last year to $476 million, the carrier, which sources say is set for an initial public offering this quarter, said on Wednesday.

Earnings were boosted by $5.7 billion in passenger revenue and $1.1 billion in cargo revenue, the company said, also citing “significant operational efficiency improvements”.

“Looking ahead, I am confident we will continue to be a financially strong airline,” CEO Antonoaldo Neves said in a statement.

The company did not mention listing plans in its earnings statement, but sources told Reuters last month Etihad had sounded out investors ahead of a potential offering this quarter.

The airline, which is owned by Abu Dhabi’s $225 billion wealth fund ADQ, is looking at a potential stake sale of around 20% to local and international investors, the sources said.

The UAE’s capital Abu Dhabi has been ramping up efforts to become a global travel hub as governments in the region diversify their economies away from oil by investing in sectors like tourism.

Etihad, which started operations in 2003, has been through a multi-year restructuring and management shake-up after investing billions of dollars to compete more effectively with Gulf peers.

The launch of a multibillion-dollar new terminal at Abu Dhabi’s Zayed International Airport in 2023 tripled the hub’s annual capacity to 45 million passengers and could help the airline’s growth plans.

Etihad launched more than 20 new destinations last year and is planning to expand its destinations to more than 125 airports by 2030.

(Reporting by Federico Maccioni and Hadeel Al Sayegh; Editing by David Goodman, Jane Merriman and Jan Harvey)