Emirates Group announced Thursday its profits for the current fiscal year (FY) stands at $1.5bn, the second highest profits in its 27 years of operation.
The Group’s announcement shows that the Group’s activities for this fiscal year (FY) hold a strong position, despite global and operational challenges.
The FY ending 31 March 2015 also marked the achievement of new capacity milestones at both Emirates and Dnata, as the Group continues to expand its global existence and strengthen its business through strategic investments.
In its 2014-2015 Annual Report, the Emirates Group realised AED 5.5bn ($1.5bn) in net profit, recording a 34% increase compared to last year’s profit. The Group’s revenues reached $26.3bn with an increase of 10% compared to last year’s results, while the Group’s cash balance remained strong marking a growth to $5.5bn.
“The aviation industry has witnessed much turbulence during FY 2014-2015. The fall of oil prices provided cost relief in the second half of the FY, however it didn’t significantly impact our profitability that has been influenced by currency fluctuations, operational adjustments, such as the Ebola outbreak, and armed conflicts in several regions, and the 80 day runway maintenance works at Dubai International Airport (DXB)”, said Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al-Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive at Emirates Airlines and Group.
The strong rise of the US dollar against the Emirati Dinar and Dnata’s key markets had a $416m impact on the group’s revenues. Additionally, the 80 day disruption at Dubai International Airport had an estimated impact of $467m on the revenues.
“The Group has collectively invested over $5.5bn in new aircraft and equipment, new facilities, the latest technologies and staff initiatives. This was the second highest amount ever in one FY,” added Sheikh Ahmed.
The Group has also increased its employee base by 11%, to reach 84,000 employees from 160 different nationalities in its more than 80 subsidiaries and companies.
Meanwhile, in line with the overall profit increase, the Group declared a dividend of $700m to the Investment Corporation of Dubai.
Regarding Emirates Airline’s performance, it received 24 new aircraft in the FY 2014-2015, launching five new passenger destinations and four new additional cargo destinations. It also added services and capacity to 34 cities on its existing route network.
Despite all challenges, Emirates Airlines has succeeded in recording net profit amounted by $1.2m with $0% increase compared to the previous year, anda healthy profit margin of 5.1%, the strongest margin since 2010-2011.
Carrying a record 49.3 million passengers, up 11% from last year, Emirates has managed to achieve a Passenger Seat Factor of 79.6%, an improvement compared with last year’s results (79.4%).
Looking forward to 2015-16, Emirates has to date announced two new routes including the Indonesian city of Denpasar and the US city of Orlando, aside from a number of capacity upgrades to existing destinations.
Regarding Dnata’s performance, the FY 2014-2015 is considered the most successful year for the company since it started operating 56 years ago. Dnata’s revenues have exceeded the level of AED recording AED 10.3bn ($2.8bn).
