DUBAI - Emirates Group posted on Thursday a 13% rise in net profit to $2.9 billion in the six-month period ended September, citing strong and sustained travel demand across regions that boosted its airline's business.

The Gulf carrier continues to rebound from the pandemic, reinforcing Dubai's position as a global aviation hub.

"Global demand for air transport and travel services has been buoyant, despite geo-political events and economic concerns in some markets," Chairman and CEO Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum said in a statement.

Emirates Group expects demand resilience to continue through fiscal 2025–26 and plans to expand capacity as the airline takes delivery of new Airbus A350 aircraft.

Additional growth will also come from new facilities at its ground-handling subsidiary dnata, the company said.

Emirates airline, whose revenue rose 6% to $17.9 billion from last year, received delivery of five new A350 aircraft in the six-month period, while 23 aircraft including Airbus and Boeing came online as part of the carrier's retrofit programme.

(Reporting by Federico Maccioni; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)