Emirates Group announced a steep decline in profitability for the first half of the financial year. Net profit dropped to 3.6 billion dirhams, equivalent to one billion US dollars, during the period spanning from April to September.
Pre-tax earnings reached 4.1 billion dirhams, or 1.1 billion dollars, according to the company. Total revenue slid 12 percent to 66.2 billion dirhams, matching 18 billion dollars, following record financial performance in the previous year.
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation fell 41 percent to 12.5 billion dirhams, which is 3.4 billion dollars. Chairman and Chief Executive Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum attributed the downturn to a sharp rise in global jet fuel costs and regional disruptions.
Sheikh Ahmed stated that the group was profitable despite these hurdles, aided by steady customer demand and strong cargo operations. He added that coordination with government authorities helped restore air travel safely and ease travel restrictions across the region.
The company continued to invest in fleet expansion and product upgrades despite the challenging operating environment. Sheikh Ahmed expressed cautious optimism for the remainder of the financial year, citing the financial resilience and liquidity of the group.
Cash reserves stood at 54.1 billion dirhams, or 14.7 billion dollars, at the end of September. This marked a decrease from 59.6 billion dirhams recorded at the close of March.
The reduction in cash reserves followed debt repayments, aircraft pre-delivery payments, and a remaining two billion dirham dividend payment to the owner. The total workforce of the group declined two percent to 128,237 employees, although targeted recruitment continued.
The airline carried 21.8 million passengers during the six-month period, representing a 22 percent decrease from the previous year. Overall capacity fell 10 percent to 28.2 billion available ton-kilometers, reflecting a reduced flight schedule.
Passenger capacity, measured in available seat kilometers, declined 17 percent. Traffic, measured in revenue passenger kilometers, dropped 25 percent.
The average passenger seat factor fell to 72 percent. In the same period last year, this measure of filled seating capacity stood at 79.5 percent.
