Dubai: Emirates announces record-breaking half-year profit of Dh10.4 billion

The group closed the first half year of 2024-25 with a solid cash position of Dh43.7 billion on September 30

Waheed Abbas

Published: Thu 7 Nov 2024, 10:01 AM

Last updated: Thu 7 Nov 2024, 10:24 AM

The Emirates Group on Thursday reported its best-ever half-year financial performance, posting a profit before tax of Dh10.4 billion for the first six months of 2024-25, surpassing its record profit for the same period last year.

This is the first financial year that the UAE corporate income tax, enacted in 2023, is applied to the Emirates Group. After accounting for the nine-per-cent tax charge, the group’s profit after tax stood at Dh9.3 billion.

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The group maintained a robust EBITDA of Dh20.4 billion, slightly lower from Dh20.6 billion last year.

Its revenue was Dh70.8 billion for the first six months of 2024-25, up five per cent from Dh67.3 billion last year.

The group closed the first half year of 2024-25 with a solid cash position of Dh43.7 billion on September 30, compared to Dh47.1 billion on March 31. The group also paid Dh2 billion in dividend to its owner, as declared at the end of its 2023-24 financial year.

Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, chairman and chief executive of Emirates Airline and Group, said: “The group has surpassed its record performance of last year to deliver a fantastic result for the first half of 2024-25. This again illustrates the power of our proven business model working in combination with Dubai’s growth trajectory as a city of choice to live, work, visit, connect through, and do business in.

“The Group’s strong profitability enables us to make the investments necessary for our continued success. We’re investing billions of dollars to bring new products and services to the market for our customers; to implement advanced technologies and other innovation projects to drive growth; and to look after our employees who work hard every day to ensure our customers’ safety and satisfaction.”

Sheikh Ahmed added: “We expect customer demand to remain strong for the rest of 2024-25, and we look forward to increasing our capacity to grow revenues as new aircraft join the Emirates fleet and new facilities come online at dnata. The outlook is positive, but we don’t intend to rest on our laurels. We will stay agile in deploying our capacity and resources in a dynamic marketplace.”

Emirates airline

Emirates airline’s profit before tax for the first half of 2024-25 hit a new record of Dh9.7 billion, compared to Dh9.5 billion for the same period last year. Emirates profit after tax is Dh8.7 billion.

Emirates' revenue, including other operating income, of Dh62.2 billion was up five per cent compared with Dh59.5 billion for the same period last year. The airline’s new record revenue is attributed to consistently strong travel and air cargo demand across markets, and its ability to offer customers great value and services.

Emirates’ direct operating costs (including fuel) grew by six per cent in line with increased operations. Fuel remains the largest component of the airline’s operating cost (32 per cent), compared to 34 per cent in the same period last year.

Driven by customer demand and increased operations during the six months, Emirates’ EBITDA of Dh19.1 billion remained very strong, although slightly down by two per cent compared to Dh19.5 billion for the same period last year.

dnata

Airport service provider dnata saw strong growth in the first six months of 2024-25, as it continued to ramp up operations across its cargo and ground handling, catering and retail, and travel services businesses.

Its revenue, including other operating income, of Dh10.4 billion increased by 11 per cent compared to Dh9.3 billion generated in the same period last year.

Overall profit before tax for dnata is Dh720 million, down by five per cent from the same period last year, primarily due to a one-off impairment charge of Dh152 million. dnata’s profit after tax stood at Dh571 million.

The company’s EBITDA was Dh1.3 billion, up 16 per cent from last year’s Dh1.1 billion (US$ 305 million).

Its travel division contributed Dh1.8 billion to revenue, up 23 per cent, with strong contributions from its Imagine Cruising, Destination Asia and Middle East Corporate Travel businesses.

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