Emirates Group reports record $2.7bn half-year profit

Image courtesy: Thiago Prudencio/ Getty Images

Dubai’s Emirates Group said on Thursday that its half-year profit jumped by 138 per cent to $2.7bn (Dhs10.1bn), driven by robust demand for international travel across regions as the global aviation industry has fully recovered from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Emirates Group, which owns the Middle East’s largest airline, said its 2023/24 half-year revenues reached Dhs67.3bn, a 20 per cent increase compared to Dhs56.3bn for 2023/24 following the recovery in air travel across the globe after the lifting of the last pandemic-related travel restrictions. Gulf  Business

The company reported earnings before interests, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of Dhs20.6bn, a significant improvement compared to Dhs15.3bn during the corresponding period last year.

Emirates Group posts best-ever half year result with profit of US$ 2.7 billion, driven by strong demand for international travel across regions. https://t.co/6RaiBaEUiZ pic.twitter.com/8YRpWdCVUw

— Emirates (@emirates) November 9, 2023

“We are seeing the fruition of our plans to return stronger and better from the dark days of the pandemic. The group has surpassed previous records to report our best-ever half-year performance,” Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, chairman and chief executive of Emirates Group said, adding that the group’s profit for the first six months of 2023/24 has nearly matched 2022/23 full-year profit.

The aviation group closed the first half year of 2023/24 with a solid cash position of Dhs42.7bn as of September 30. It has been tapping on its cash reserves to support business requirements, including debt payments.

The company also paid Dhs4.5bn dividend to its owner, the Dubai Government, as declared at the end of its 2022/23 financial year.

Emirates Group’s growth strategy

Sheikh Ahmed said Emirates Group has implemented a series of service and product enhancements to advance customer experience and plans to continue to invest in human capital, products, partnerships, and technology to strengthen capabilities.

“For the second half of 2023/24, 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,” he said.

Emirates Airline, the group’s airline business, posted Dhs9.4bn in half-year profit from Dhs4bn for the same period a year ago, while its revenues soared by 19 per cent Dhs59.5bn from Dhs13.7bn – driven by strong passenger demand for international travel across markets. Emirates, dnata

The carrier, which relies on its vast global network and does not have any domestic routes, carried 26.1 million passengers between April 1 and September 30, a 31 per cent increase compared to the same period a year ago while its cargo division uplifted 1.04 million tonnes during the same period under review.

Driven by strong demand and increased operations during the six months, the airline’s EBITDA grew by 33 per cent to Dhs19.5bn compared to Dhs14.7bn for the corresponding period a year ago.

Emirates Airline has been seeing a steady increase in passengers passing through its hub in Dubai. The carrier is currently operating passenger and cargo services to 144 airports, using its entire Boeing 777 aircraft and 104 Airbus A380s.

Emirates Group’s aircraft ground handling, cargo, travel, and flight catering services unit, dnata, saw its revenues surging by 27 per cent to Dhs9.3bn while its profit reached Dhs709m compared to the same period last year’s Dhs236m.

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