Emirates profit more than doubles to Dh2.8b
Jump attributed to a number of measures, including cost-cutting and increased efficiency
Emirates airline saw its profit more than double in 2017, reporting yesterday Dh2.8 billion in profit for the year, up from Dh1.3 billion in 2016.
The carrier’s revenues rose by 9 per cent year-on-year to Dh92.3 billion for the financial year ending March 2017, supported by strong cargo performance.
Emirates carried 58.5 million passengers during the year, a 4 per cent increase over the figures in 2016.
Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, VicePresident and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, congratulated Emirates on its results, tweeting the group’s and the airline’s earnings, and adding, “[Emirates is] a pride for the nation, behind which there are capable men. It’s a success story to be told to generations to come. Well done.”
Shaikh Ahmad Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of Dubai Civil Aviation and Chairman and Chief Executive of Emirates airline and Group, attributed the jump to a number of measures including cost-cutting and increasing efficiency, as well as synergy benefits from the partnership with flydubai.
Meanwhile, Emirates Group, of which the airline is a unit, reported Dh4.1 billion in profits for the year, up 67 per cent year-on-year.
The head of Emirates airline said he was optimistic about the carrier’s financial performance in 2018, expressing hopes that it will be a “good year” amid improvements in the operating environment.
Shaikh Ahmad Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of Dubai Civil Aviation and Chairman and CEO of Emirates airline and Group, said the carrier is expected to benefit from synergies, especially in the summer as a result of its partnership with flydubai.
His comments came as Emirates reported Dh2.8 billion in profit for the financial year ending March 2017, a 124 per cent jump from the Dh1.3 billion recorded a year earlier.
Emirates Group reported Dh4.1 billion in profit for the year, up 67 per cent year-onyear, with revenues 8 per cent higher at Dh102.4 billion.
The increase in earnings came as Emirates benefited from the decline in the US dollar against other currencies, a factor that gave the carrier a Dh661 million boost to revenues.
The growth was also despite a 15 per cent increase in fuel costs, which raised Emirates’ operating costs by 7 per cent during the year. In its statement on financial results, Emirates said its fuel bill increased by 18 per cent year-on-year to Dh24.7 billion in 2017.
Fuel remained the biggest cost component for the airline, accounting for 28 per cent of operating costs, up from 25 per cent a year earlier.
Shaikh Ahmad said business conditions in 2017, while improved, “remained tough.”
Currency volatility
“We saw ongoing political instability, currency volatility and devaluations in Africa, rising oil prices which drove our costs up, and downward pressure on margins from relentless competition,” he said.
“On the positive side, we benefited from a healthy recovery in the global air cargo industry, as well as the relative strengthening of key currencies against the US dollar.”
During a media round-table to discuss Emirates’ performance, Shaikh Ahmad also said the firm benefited from increased efficiency and synergy benefits from its partnership with flydubai.
“In 2017-2018, our reduced recruitment activity, coupled with restructured ways of working gave us gains in productivity...” he said.
Across Emirates Group’s subsidiaries which are in excess of 80, total workforce declined by 2 per cent to 103,363 employees, but the chairman said the airline was not facing issues with regards to staff shortages.
A Reuters report on Tuesday said the carrier is facing a cabin crew shortage and is struggling to fully staff some flights, but Shaikh Ahmad refuted that.
“We are operating more efficiently… and this is the reason why. We don’t have any issue of shortage when it comes to pilots or cabin [crew],” he told reporters, adding that a 2 per cent drop in total workforce was “normal”.