Dubai: The Emirates Group has flown into another record performance, with its half-year profit at Dh10.1 billion ($2.7 billion), up by a substantial 138 per cent from last year. The surge in international travel from across regions and its near full return to operating capacity has helped.
The group revenue is up 20 per cent to Dh67.3 billion ($18.3 billion), from Dh56.3 billion.
"Our profit for the first six months of 2023-24 has nearly matched our record full-year profit in 2022-23," said Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive, Emirates Airline and Group.
"This is a tremendous achievement that speaks to the talent and commitment within the organisation, the strength of our business model, and power of Dubai’s vision and policies that has enabled the creation of a strong, resilient, and progressive aviation sector."
Paying off loans
The Group confirmed that until September end, it had paid off Dh9.2 billion from its 'COVID-19 related loans'.
We’ve implemented a series of service and product enhancements to win customer preference. We’ll continue to invest in our people, products, partnerships, and technology to strengthen our capabilities and ensure we are future-ready
Rising fuel prices, strong dollar
On the second-half prospects, 'we expect customer demand across our business divisions to remain healthy and we will stay agile in how we deploy our resources in this dynamic marketplace. At the same time, we are keeping a close watch on headwinds such as rising fuel prices, the strengthening US dollar, inflationary costs, and geo-politics."
26.1 million
Number of passengers that all the Emirates flights between April 1 to September 30 flew to their destinationsPassenger numbers
Emirates put on board 26.1 million passengers between April 1 and September 30, which is the airline's half-year. This is 31 per cent up from last year.
Emirates profit itself hit a new peak of Dh9.4 billion from Dh4 billion. The revenue tally - including other operating income - of Dh59.5 billion came to a 19 per cent increase from Dh50.1 billion. "The record performance is attributable to the strong passenger demand for international travel across markets and Emirates’ ability to activate capacity to match demand; and offer customers great value and services," it said in the statement.
"The Group has been able to tap on its own strong cash reserves to support business needs, including debt payments," said the statement. "So far, Emirates has repaid Dh9.2 billion of its COVID-19 related loans. The Group also paid Dh4.5 billion in dividend to its owner, as declared at the end of its 2022-23 financial year."
Cargo tally
The Skycargo division lifted 1.03 million tonnes, which is an 11 per cent increase, despite the 'overall softening in the global cargo market'.
