Dubai’s Emirates Group, parent company of the Middle East’s largest airline, has posted a record annual profit of $6.2 billion, marking its third consecutive year of record earnings.
The 18% profit increase was driven by strong global travel demand but was slightly reduced to $5.6 billion after accounting for the UAE’s newly introduced corporate tax, which applied for a full fiscal year for the first time.
“The Emirates Group has raised the bar to set new records for profit, revenue, and cash assets,” said Group Chairman Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum in a statement on Thursday.
During the year, the group invested $3.8 billion in new aircraft, infrastructure, and technology to support its long-term growth strategy. Its total workforce expanded by 9% to an all-time high of 121,223 employees.
The group also declared a dividend of $1.6 billion to its owner, the Investment Corporation of Dubai (ICD).
Emirates airline, the Group’s flagship carrier, reported a record pre-tax profit of $5.8 billion, a 20% increase over the previous year. Revenue climbed 6% to $34.9 billion.
The Group’s ground-handling and logistics division, Dnata, also recorded a pre-tax profit of $430 million, a 2% rise from the previous year.
Emirates, the world’s largest long-haul airline, is expanding its fleet significantly. As of March, it had 314 aircraft on order, including 61 Airbus A350s and 205 Boeing 777X jets.
To compensate for aircraft delivery delays, the Group is retrofitting 219 aircraft at a cost of $5 billion. Sheikh Ahmed previously stated that 90% of the fleet will be upgraded as part of this effort.
AFP
