The Emirates Group announced its half-yearly results which show steady performance and growth, despite a challenging business environment marked by ongoing health pandemic concerns, regional conflicts, and weakening global markets.
The Emirates Group revenues reached AED 47.5 billion (US$ 12.9 billion) for the first six months of its 2014-15 fiscal year, up 12% from AED 42.3 billion (US$ 11.5 billion) from the same period last year.
Net profit for the Group rose to AED 2.2 billion (US$ 607 million) an increase of 1% over the last year’s results. The Group’s cash position on 30th September 2014 was at AED 16.1 billion (US$ 4.4 billion), compared to AED 19.0 billion (US$ 5.2 billion) as at 31st March 2014. This is due to ongoing investments mainly into new aircraft and other airline related infrastructure projects.
“As the biggest operator at Dubai International, we also took the biggest hit to our bottom line from the 80-day runway upgrading works. However, we had anticipated it and made meticulous plans to minimise impact operationally and commercially for both Emirates and dnata. The success of these plans can be seen in our overall growth during this six-month period in spite of the challenge,” said Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive, Emirates Airline and Group.
He added: “It is those external threats that we cannot anticipate or directly manage, such as the global economic malaise, the Ebola outbreak, currency fluctuations, and regional conflicts, that could negate our efforts and plans. These issues appear to be piling up, impacting commercial aviation and travel, but show no signs of speedy resolution. Therefore it is critical that we stay agile as we grow. The ability to adapt and act quickly will determine our continued success. Moving forward, we will keep a watchful eye on these challenges, but continue to focus on our long-term goals and invest in the infrastructure of both Emirates and dnata.”
In the past six months, the Group continued to develop and expand its employee base, increasing its overall staff count by 5% to over 79,000 compared with 31 March 2014.
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