Dubai

Emirates expects its profits for the financial year 2013-2014 to improve over 2012’s performance, according to its chairman. The airline is scheduled to release its financial results for the year ending March 31, 2013, tomorrow.

“The results [this year] are going to be better than last year’s,” said Shaikh Ahmad Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of Dubai Civil Aviation and Chairman and Chief Executive of Emirates airline and Group, in an interview yesterday.

Emirates posted a profit of Dh2.3 billion ($622 million) in 2012 up 52 per cent from 2011. And in 2011, the airline reaped profit of Dh1.5 billion.

Shaikh Ahmad also said Emirates is “fully financed” for its aircraft deliveries for this year and will not need to raise additional finance.

Asked if the airline intended to tap the market this year for more finance or look to issue a sukuk, he said: “If we need to go to the market we will go.”

Move to DWC

On why Emirates decided to ground its fleet during the 80-day runway repair period at Dubai International, as opposed to shifting some of its capacity to Al Maktoum International, Shaikh Ahmad said: “The Emirates model is [to have operations] in one place. And also Al Maktoum International today, with the existing terminal, doesn’t have aerobridges. So that will be a bit of difficulty for Emirates, which operates big aircraft. It’s just a matter of 80 days, and sometimes we have to accept such things.”

The airline said recently it will be forced to ground roughly up to 22 aircraft a month for the period, taking a Dh1 billion revenue hit.

He did not give a definitive time frame for Emirates to move operations to the new airport. “When the facility is ready for Emirates to have its terminal, which will take that capacity, we will move there,” Shaikh Ahmad said. He expects it will need anything between five and seven years to be fully operational. “We are talking about nearly 100 million passengers,” he said.

Despite India recently having opened up the market for foreign carriers to fly in their A380s, Shaikh Ahmad said, the airline does not have an exact date for such operations. “I don’t want to tell you [we will start] this year or next year because I don’t know. I know that we have the seat so it doesn’t matter. But the intention is there.”

He, however, said that the move would enable Emirates to add more capacity [into the India market]. “Emirates will be able to increase the number of flights to India in general.”

Currently operating 47 sup-erjumbos in its fleet, Emirates will be receiving its 50th A380 within the next couple of months.

It is estimated that the overall investment earmarked to build the infrastructure (including the construction and servicing) for the Expo 2020 site will be around €6.5 billion.

According to Shaikh Ahmad, Dubai is open to partnerships with private companies and investors to raise money for building infrastructure for the Expo 2020, according to Shaikh Ahmad.

He said that a part of it all, such as building hotels there, will be financed by investors, adding that Dubai will be partnering with private companies on the financing side to raise money for building the project.

Asked how much of the Expo infrastructure would be funded by the Dubai government, Shaikh Ahmad said: “Dubai will always build the infrastructure. I don’t have the breakdown [for the government] but in total around 6.5 billion euros would be spent on the Expo infrastructure.”.