Rising fuel costs were a drag on profit growth at Emirates Airline in its financial first half despite rising passenger and cargo numbers.
The results come just days ahead of the Dubai Airshow, where the carrier is expected to announce a bumper order of new planes.
The Emirates Group reported net profits of Dh2.2 billion for the six months to the end of September, a year-on-year rise of 4 per cent.
Of this figure, the airline’s profit stood at Dh1.7bn, up 2 per cent from last year.
Group revenues grew 13 per cent to Dh42.3bn during this period.
They were affected by high fuel costs (39 per cent of expenses), a still-recovering global economy, and the US dollar’s strong performance against other major currencies.
However, those challenges were largely offset by Emirates’ growing global passenger and cargo traffic – contrary to the downturn across the worldwide aviation industry.
The airline carried 21.5 million passengers during the period, up 15 per cent from last year, while cargo volumes grew 5.2 per cent.
Its revenue grew 12 per cent to Dh39.8bn, including other operating revenue.
“The global business environment continues to be challenging,” said Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, the chairman and chief executive of Emirates Airline and Emirates Group. “We have stayed agile even as we grow, and this ability to adapt and act quickly has been key to our success.”
The group’s cash hoard stood at Dh18.2bn at the end of September, down from Dh27bn at the end of March.
This follows a Dh1.8bn bond repayment which matured in July, a Dh367 million first instalment payment on a US$1bn sukuk, and a Dh7bn injection to fund new aircraft, engines, spare parts and other projects across the group.
During the six-month period, Emirates took delivery of 10 wide-body aircraft consisting of A380s, three 777s and a 777 freighter.
It is scheduled to receive 15 more aircraft by the end of next March.
The airline celebrated five years of its A380 service during the period, having flown more than 18 million passengers since its maiden flight on August 1, 2008, from Dubai to New York.
The airline flies to 137 destinations in 77 countries, up from 126 cities in 74 countries a year ago.
Revenue at dnata, the group’s airline services unit, grew to Dh3.7bn for the six-month period, up 18 per cent from last year. Profit increased 13 per cent to Dh458m.
jeverington@thenational.ae
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Off-roading in the UAE: How to checklist
Sukuk explained
Sukuk are Sharia-compliant financial certificates issued by governments, corporates and other entities. While as an asset class they resemble conventional bonds, there are some significant differences. As interest is prohibited under Sharia, sukuk must contain an underlying transaction, for example a leaseback agreement, and the income that is paid to investors is generated by the underlying asset. Investors must also be prepared to share in both the profits and losses of an enterprise. Nevertheless, sukuk are similar to conventional bonds in that they provide regular payments, and are considered less risky than equities. Most investors would not buy sukuk directly due to high minimum subscriptions, but invest via funds.
Cheeseburger%20ingredients
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UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
The specs
Engine: 2-litre or 3-litre 4Motion all-wheel-drive Power: 250Nm (2-litre); 340 (3-litre) Torque: 450Nm Transmission: 8-speed automatic Starting price: From Dh212,000 On sale: Now
How Islam's view of posthumous transplant surgery changed
Transplants from the deceased have been carried out in hospitals across the globe for decades, but in some countries in the Middle East, including the UAE, the practise was banned until relatively recently.
Opinion has been divided as to whether organ donations from a deceased person is permissible in Islam.
The body is viewed as sacred, during and after death, thus prohibiting cremation and tattoos.
One school of thought viewed the removal of organs after death as equally impermissible.
That view has largely changed, and among scholars and indeed many in society, to be seen as permissible to save another life.
RACECARD
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England squads for Test and T20 series against New Zealand
Test squad: Joe Root (capt), Jofra Archer, Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Zak Crawley, Sam Curran, Joe Denly, Jack Leach, Saqib Mahmood, Matthew Parkinson, Ollie Pope, Dominic Sibley, Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes
T20 squad: Eoin Morgan (capt), Jonny Bairstow, Tom Banton, Sam Billings, Pat Brown, Sam Curran, Tom Curran, Joe Denly, Lewis Gregory, Chris Jordan, Saqib Mahmood, Dawid Malan, Matt Parkinson, Adil Rashid, James Vince
Also on December 7 to 9, the third edition of the Gulf Car Festival (www.gulfcarfestival.com) will take over Dubai Festival City Mall, a new venue for the event. Last year's festival brought together about 900 cars worth more than Dh300 million from across the Emirates and wider Gulf region – and that first figure is set to swell by several hundred this time around, with between 1,000 and 1,200 cars expected. The first day is themed around American muscle; the second centres on supercars, exotics, European cars and classics; and the final day will major in JDM (Japanese domestic market) cars, tuned vehicles and trucks. Individuals and car clubs can register their vehicles, although the festival isn’t all static displays, with stunt drifting, a rev battle, car pulls and a burnout competition.
Manchester United v Club America
When: Thursday, 9pm Arizona time (Friday UAE, 8am)
Origin
Dan Brown
Doubleday
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BORDERLANDS
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jamie Lee Curtis
Director: Eli Roth
Rating: 0/5
KINGDOM%20OF%20THE%20PLANET%20OF%20THE%20APES
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Wes%20Ball%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Owen%20Teague%2C%20Freya%20Allen%2C%20Kevin%20Durand%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E3.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cylinder petrol
Power: 154bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Transmission: 7-speed automatic with 8-speed sports option
Price: From Dh79,600
On sale: Now
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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TRAP
Starring: Josh Hartnett, Saleka Shyamalan, Ariel Donaghue
Director: M Night Shyamalan
Rating: 3/5
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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