UAE – Mubasher: The consolidated preliminary financial results of Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE) posted net profits of $121.7 million in the first half (H1) of 2020, down from $197.1 million in the same half of 2019.

The airline's total revenues decreased to $672.6 million in the first six months of 2020 from $735.2 million in the corresponding period of the earlier year, according to a press release on Wednesday.

The company's net income declined to $121.7 million in the January-June period of the current year from $197.1 million in the same period of 2019.

The lower income is driven by 23 fewer aircraft in its portfolio, fewer asset sales, and higher provisions for trade receivables offset by lower interest expense.

The adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) recorded $584.5 million in H1-20, decreasing from $688.4 million in H1-19.

Commenting on the company's performance in H1-20, the CEO of DAE, Firoz Tarapore, said: "As of June 30, 2020, we had US$2.8 billion of cash and available liquidity. During the first half of the year, we repurchased US$187 million of our bonds and have US$229 million of remaining repurchase authorization."