Emirates Earns $1 Billion Record Net Profit for Fiscal First Half

Registering a record performance for the first six months of the financial year, Dubai state carrier Emirates Airline on Thursday reported a net profit of $1.08 billion for the first half of the financial year, compared to a loss of $1.6 billion for the same period last year.

As the airline shifted capacity from its mini-freighters back to passenger operations, Emirates carried 20 million passengers between April 1 and September 30, up 228 percent from the same period last year.

However, Emirates Skycargo uplifted 936,000 tonnes in the first six months of the year, a 14 percent decrease compared to the same period last year.

Despite the volatility of the currency exchange, Emirates’ revenue, including other operating income, of $13.7 billion was up 131 percent compared to the same period last year.

Operating costs increased by 73 percent against an overall capacity growth of 40 percent mainly due to the substantial increase in fuel costs.

The airline's parent company Emirates Group also reported a net profit of $1.1 billion, compared to its $1.6 billion loss for the same period last year.

The group closed the first half of the financial year with a strong cash position of $8.9 billion for the period ending September 30, compared to $7 billion on March 31.

“Emirates Group has been able to tap on its own strong cash reserves to support business needs, including debt payments and pandemic-related commitments,” read a statement from the group.

While commending the record performance of the first six months of 2022-23, Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, chairman and Chief Executive of Emirates Airline and Group, said that the journey is not without headwinds.

“We are keeping a close watch on inflationary costs and other macro-challenges such as the strong US dollar and the fiscal policies of major markets.”