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Dubai's Emirates Group swung to a record profit of 10.1 billion UAE dirhams ($2.7 billion) in the first half of its 2023/2024 financial year, more than double last year’s AED 4.2 billion, buoyed by strong post pandemic demand for international travel across regions.
The group revenue was up 20% to AED 67.3 billion, the Dubai-based aviation group said in a statement on Thursday.
The growth was largely attributed to the performance of Emirates airline, which reported a H1 profit of AED 9.4 billion versus AED 4 billion in the year-ago period.
Airline revenue, including other operating income, of AED 59.5 billion was up 19% compared with the AED 50.1 billion recorded in the same period last year.
Emirates’ direct operating costs, including fuel, grew by 9%. Fuel remains the largest component of the airline’s operating cost, 34%, compared to 38% in the same period last year.
Driven by strong demand and increased operations during the six months, Emirates’ EBITDA grew by 33% to AED 19.5 billion, compared to AED 14.7 billion the same period last year.
The airline said it carried 26.1 million passengers in H1 2023, up 31% from the same period last year. Emirates Skycargo uplifted 1,035,000 tonnes in the first six months of the year, an 11% increase compared to the same period last year despite an overall softening in the global cargo market.
Group revenue
The Group closed H1 with a cash position of AED 42.7 billion on September 30, 2023, compared to AED 42.5 billion on March 31, 2023, allowing it repay AED 9.2 billion of its COVID-19 related loans. The Group also paid AED 4.5 billion in dividend to its owner, as declared at the end of its 2022-23 financial year.
“The Group has surpassed previous records to report our best-ever half-year performance. Our profit for the first six months of 2023-24 has nearly matched our record full year profit in 2022-23,” Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive, Emirates Airline and Group said in a statement.
Sheikh Ahmed added: “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. At the same time, we are keeping a close watch on headwinds such as rising fuel prices, the strengthening US dollar, inflationary costs, and geopolitics.”
Emirates Group’s employee base, compared to March 31, 2023, grew 6% to an overall count of 108,996 on September 30, 2023. Both Emirates and dnata continue to have ongoing recruitment drives to support their future requirements.
Growth of dnata
Airport and travel services company dnata’s revenue, including other operating income, of AED 9.3 billion increased by 27% compared to AED 7.3 billion generated in the same period last year. Dnata attributed this to the catering and airport services arm winning new contracts and growing existing customers across its international operations.
Overall profit for dnata was AED 709 million, compared to same period last year’s AED 236 million.
Dnata’s airport operations remained the largest contributor to revenue with AED 4.1 billion, an 18% increase compared to the same period last year. Its flight catering and retail operations contributed AED 3.5 billion to its revenue, up 45% with strong production increases in Australia, Italy, UK, and the US to meet customer demand.
Dnata's travel division contributed AED 1.4 billion to revenue, up 16% compared to AED 1.2 billion for the same period last year.
(Writing by Bindu Rai, editing by Brinda Darasha)
