Emirates Group records US $ 575 mn net profit, up 68 %
The Emirates Group today announced its half yearly results which
remain robust despite continued global economic pressure and continued
high fuel prices. The Emirates Group posted a AED 2.1 billion (US $ 575
million) net profit for the first six months of its current fiscal year
ending 30th September 2012, up 68 per cent from AED 1.3 billion (US $
343 million) from September 30, 2011.
Despite fundamental challenges, the Group’s revenue and other
operating income rose to AED 38.2 billion (US$ 10.4 billion) an increase
of 16 percent over the last year’s results. This constitutes the first
time in the Group’s history that revenue surpassed the US $ 10 billion
mark in a six month period. The Group’s cash position on September 30,
2012 remained strong at AED 15.2 billion (US $ 4.1 billion), compared to
AED 17.6 billion (US $ 4.8 billion) as of March end 2012.
The AED 2.4 billion difference in the cash balance is primarily
resulting from a AED 2.0 billion Sukuk bond repayment in June 2012. “The
Emirates Group half-year performance is the result of hard work and our
drive to stay on course and continue to grow despite the precarious
marketplace,” said Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman and Chief
Executive, Emirates Airline and Group. “We have continued to invest in
the infrastructure of both Emirates and DNATA and it continues to pay
off.”
Even with a challenging operating environment, the Group continued to
invest in and expand on its employee base, increasing its overall staff
count by more than 8 percent in just six months to nearly 68,000. During
the first six months of the fiscal year Emirates received 13 wide-body
aircraft, including two A380s and ten Boeing 777s and one freighter,
with more than 15 new aircraft scheduled to be delivered before the end
of the financial year (March 31, 2013). As the fleet increased, Emirates
further invested in its network by adding five new destinations that
have joined the 10 new routes added since September 30, 2011, for a
total of 15.
On its strong upward trajectory, Emirates continues to be one of the
fastest growing airlines in the world.
In spite of unstable global economic, geopolitical and environmental
conditions Emirates continues to make a profit. In the first half of the
2012-13 fiscal year, Emirates net profit is AED 1.7 billion (US $ 464
million) up 104 percent from AED 836 million (US $ 228 million).
“Emirates remained focused on its growth and global expansion despite
on-going fluctuating exchange rates and ever lingering high fuel prices
which accounted for 39 per cent of our expenditures, down 2 percentage
points from last year,” said Sheikh Ahmed.
“The instability in the market over the past six months has put
Emirates to the test, and once again we have risen to the challenge, our
results speak for themselves.”
Equipped with the world’s largest fleet of A380s and the largest
fleet of Boeing 777s Emirates continues its broad, global expansion now
flying to 126[i] destinations up from 114 last year to 74 countries
compared with 67 last year. The airline has launched five new
destinations since April 1, 2012 including Ho Chi Minh City, Barcelona,
Lisbon, Erbil and Washington, D.C.
Additional new routes to be added during the second half of the
fiscal year include Adelaide, which launched 1st November and the
upcoming routes of Lyon, Phuket, Warsaw and Algiers. |