MAXIMUS AIR CONTINUES TO FOCUS ON FAST GROWING AFRICAN CARGO MARKET

Abu Dhabi, 20^th February 2012 - Maximus Air - the UAE’s largest dedicated cargo aircraft operator - continues to have the African market firmly in its sights – as it seeks to expand its footprint beyond the Arab world.

The company will feature prominently in the Air Cargo Africa Expo for a second successive year alongside some of the world’s biggest air freight players in the industry, in an effort to strengthen its foothold in this fast growing market.

Organised by STAT Trade Times, Air Cargo Africa was conceptualised to allow air cargo industry players from around the world to capitalise on the many opportunities available in Africa.

“Africa is the second-fastest growing region in the world and being hailed as the ‘New Frontier’, which is why we will be showcasing our strengths alongside some major names in the air cargo industry,” says Fathi Hilal Buhazza, Maximus Air Cargo President and CEO. “We have made a strong statement of our intent to serve this market with our dual business model of ACMI and charter and our return is a further indication of our long term commitment to this continent.”

According to Buhazza, IATA’s latest analysis showed African freight volumes grew 4.4 per cent last year with the energy sector making a large contribution to this figure.

Maximus is looking to capitalise on this predicted growth and build on another successful financial year of its own, which saw revenue jump by 5 per cent to US$115.8 million compared to 2011.

According to Buhazza this is largely due to commercial charters from numerous global key clients and solid sales growth in the private sector. “Our 2012 performance was very encouraging especially as we witnessed the closure of several other Aviation and cargo operators worldwide as a result of continued difficult global operating conditions. Our operating profit was higher than 2011 by 11 per cent and net profit increased by 4 per cent as a result of the higher revenue combined with tight cost control measures,” he said.

Meanwhile Mohammed Parker, VP Commercial at Maximus Air, who is heading the executive delegation to the three day event, said: “With air traffic volumes into Africa set to grow and with long reserves of resources and untapped investment opportunities, local markets in Africa hold strong profit potential. We have the specalised aircraft and are monitoring this trade lane from UAE with eager intent”

Parkar who is also one of the panelists at the conference - CONNECTING AFRICA TO THE GLOBAL AIR CARGO INDUSTRY - being run in tandem with the expo adds “The aviation sector in Africa is a challenging emerging market, however we have witnessed growth and the latest projections are a positive picture in a currently flat and depressed global economy”

A part of Abu Dhabi Aviation Group and established in 2005, Maximus Air Cargo has rapidly grown to be a key player providing end to end solutions for a multitude of sectors. Specialising in outsized cargo and ACMI leasing aircraft, its expertise is diverse and it operates varied fleet of eight aircraft, impeccable safety and security standards and an expert team, Maximus has in a short time established itself as the all-cargo airline of choice and its figures and plans clearly reflect this success.