Abu Dhabi Duty Free crosses US$ 100m target for 2007 - US$ 58 average transaction; Robust performances in core categories.

Abu Dhabi Duty Free (ADDF), the region's number one travel retailer for average transaction spend posted its results for 2007 today with the company having surpassed its latest milestone finished the year by posting USD 102.6m in turnover.

Up 36.29 percent over the same period last year, Dan Cappell, General Manager of Abu Dhabi Duty Free and Acting Commercial Director of Abu Dhabi Airports Company said: "I would like to thank all our customers and staff for making 2007 such a success and I am pleased to announce that we have crossed another key milestone in the history of Abu Dhabi Duty Free by reaching and surpassing the USD 100m mark."

2007 sales were buoyed by robust growth across the core categories of Beauty & Fragrance, L&T, Confectionery and Gold with the best performing core category going to Electronics with a 52.22 percent increase. Core category sales accounted for over 58 percent of total revenue at ADDF in 2007.

Already enjoying one of the highest average spends per transaction in the world; ADDF saw a marked upward trend in 2007 with year-end figures revealing an average USD58.50 spent per transaction by departing passengers - up from USD51 earlier in the year or 23.54 percent over 2006 figures.

"Last year's growth can be attributed to a number of factors but undoubtedly a key contributor has been the increased frequencies and destinations arriving into and flying from Abu Dhabi due to the ever expanding network of the UAE's National Airline, Etihad Airways," added Cappell.

"We are confident that from early in 2008 we will see yet more aggressive growth, particularly as Etihad adds another key destination to their network - Beijing - and the official opening of Abu Dhabi International Airport's Terminal 3 later in the year will add over 2,500sqm of additional retail space and enhanced customer experiences to our customers," concluded Cappell.

Abu Dhabi Duty Free (ADDF)

Established in 1984 with just five shops, Abu Dhabi Duty Free (ADDF) has grown into a multi-award winning travel retail organization and as the third-largest operation in the Middle East, by turnover, maintains the highest average spend per customer of all Middle East Duty Free operations.

From the beginning of 2008, additional retail space will be added at Abu Dhabi International Airport with the new Terminal 3 development - a dedicated terminal for Etihad Airways, the National Airline of the United Arab Emirates. With the growing number of flights and routes coming through Abu Dhabi's airports in the short to medium term, ADDF is set to become one of the fastest growing travel retail environments over the next decade.

ADDF runs a monthly draw "The Big Ticket" - a multi-prize raffle that is open to travellers passing through any of Abu Dhabi's airports and to non-travellers via an online purchase facility as well as at drop-off points at the airports. With a total prize fund of AED 1,500,000 (USD 407,830) or AED 1,000,000 (USD 271,887) for first prize, tickets are priced at AED 500 (USD 135 / EUR 100 / GBP 67.50) each.

ADDF services extend across the Emirate with operations at Abu Dhabi International Airport, Al Ain International Airport, and the Ghweifat land-border outlet between the UAE and KSA.

[c] 2008 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)