Emirates Group announced its half-year results

The Emirates Group today announced its half-year results for its fiscal year 2022-23.

The Group reports a half-year net profit of AED 4.2 billion (US$ 1.2 billion), a half-year record performance, representing a recovery of almost AED 10 billion from the AED 5.7 billion (US$ 1.6 billion) loss for the same period last year.

The Group also reported EBITDA of AED 15.3 billion (US$4.2 billion), a marked improvement over AED 5.6 billion (US$1.5 billion) during the same period last year, illustrating its strong operating profitability.

Group revenue was AED 56.3 billion (US$15.3 billion) for the first six months of 2022-23, up 128% from AED 24.7 billion (US$6.7 billion) last year. This was driven by strong demand for air travel around the world with the further relaxation and removal of travel restrictions related to the pandemic.

The Group closed the first half of 2022-23 with a strong cash position of AED 32.6 billion (US$ 8.9 billion) as of September 30, 2022, compared to AED 25.8 billion (US$ 7 billion), as of March 31 of 2022. The Group has been able to leverage its strong cash reserves to support business needs, including debt payments and commitments related to the pandemic.

His Highness (HH) Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman and CEO of Emirates Airline and the Emirates Group, highlighted: "The Group's record performance for the first six months of 2022-23 is the result of advance planning, the agile commercial response and the efforts of our talented and committed workforce”.

“Across the Group, the recovery of our operations accelerated as more countries relaxed and lifted travel restrictions. We were ready and among the first to move to meet strong customer demand, thanks to our strong business plans, the support of our industry partners, and our continued investments in people, technology, products, and services.

“Over the coming months, we remain focused on restoring our operations to pre-pandemic levels and recruiting the right skills to fill our current and future requirements. We expect customer demand in our business divisions to remain strong in the second half of 2022-23. However, the horizon is not without its headwinds, and we are closely monitoring inflationary costs and other macro challenges, such as the strength of the US dollar and the fiscal policies of the main markets.”

Sheikh Ahmed added: "The Group expects to return to our track record of profitability at the close of our full financial year."

In line with increased capacity and business activities, Emirates Group's employee base, compared to March 31, 2022, grew by 10% to a total employee count of 93,893 employees as of September 30, 2022. Both Emirates like dnata have also focused on developing targeted recruitment campaigns to support their future requirements. 

Emirates Airlines

Emirates continued to focus on restoring its global passenger network and connections through its Dubai hub, restarting services and adding flights to meet customer demand in all markets.

In June, it launched services to Tel Aviv, a new destination. Expanding connectivity options for customers, Emirates established codeshare and interline agreements with 12 airlines in the first six months of the 2022-23 period: Airlink, AEGEAN, ITA Airways, Air Baltic, Air Canada, Bamboo Airways, Batik Air , Finnair, Royal Air Maroc, Sky Express, Sun Country Airlines and United Airlines.

As of September 30, the airline operated cargo and passenger services at 140 airports, using its entire fleet of Boeing 777s and 73 A380s.

During the first six months of 2022-23, Emirates took delivery of 2 new Boeing 777 freighters and returned 1 aging freighter from its fleet as part of its long-standing strategy to minimize its emissions footprint and operate modern, efficient aircraft. With new passenger aircraft only expected to arrive in 2024, Emirates this month began its multi-million dollar program to modernize 120 aircraft with its latest interior and cabin products.

Emirates continued to introduce new products and initiatives to its customers to deliver on its "Fly Better" promise, including improved menus in all cabin classes and the launch of a new hospitality program to improve training and service delivery. In August, Emirates launched its full Premium Economy experience to a very positive response from "booked" customers on its flights to London, Paris and Sydney. Emirates plans to introduce its Premium Economy product on 5 more routes before the end of 2022-23, as more aircraft equipped with these popular seats come out of its modernization programme.

Overall capacity for the first six months of the year increased by 40% to 22.8 billion available tonne-kilometres (ATKM) due to an expanded flight schedule as more countries eased travel restrictions. Capacity measured in Available Seat Kilometers (ASKM), increased by 123%, while passenger traffic carried measured in Revenue Passenger Kilometers (RPKM) increased by 265% with an Average Load Factor of 78.5%, compared with 47.9% during the same period last year.

Emirates carried 20 million passengers between April 1 and September 30, 2022, 228% more than in the same period last year. Emirates Skycargo transported 936,000 tons in the first six months of the year, a decrease of 14% compared to the same period last year, as the airline switched the capacity of its "mini-freighters" to passenger operations.

Emirates' profit for the first half of 2022-23 reached a new record of AED 4 billion (US$1.1 billion), compared to last year's loss of AED 5.8 billion (US$1.6 billion). Despite an unfavorable currency environment, Emirates' revenue including other operating income was AED 50.1 billion (US$ 13.7 billion) up 131% compared to AED 21.7 billion (US$ 5.9 billion) recorded during the same period from last year. The airline's strong performance is driven by strong passenger demand for international travel in all markets and showcases the airline's ability to plan ahead and meet demand, activate capacity and attract customers with its high-quality products and your value proposition.

Emirates' operating costs increased by 73% against overall capacity growth of 40%, mainly due to a substantial increase in fuel costs, which more than tripled compared to the same period last year. This was primarily due to a 65% higher fuel increase, in line with increased flight operations and a doubling of average oil prices during this period. Fuel, which was the largest component of the airline's operating cost in pre-pandemic reporting cycles, accounted for 38% of operating costs, one of the highest proportions ever, compared to 20%. in the first six months of last year.

Driven by strong demand and increased operations over the six months, Emirates' EBITDA grew almost threefold to AED 14.7 billion (US$4 billion) compared to AED 5 billion (US$1.4 billion) for the same period last year.

Dnata

In line with the increase in air and passenger traffic in the markets, dnata's businesses in cargo handling and handling, catering and retail, and travel services, experienced a significant increase in operations. This fueled strong revenue growth in the first six months of 2022-23, however dnata's overall performance was affected by inflation and rising costs in all of its markets.

In the first half of 2022-23, dnata increased its presence with new long-term concession contracts to provide services in Zanzibar (dnata airport operations) and Ras Al Khaimah (Alpha Catering). Its airport operations division entered the German market with the acquisition of Wisskirchen Handling Services, the exclusive operator at the Cologne Bonn cargo hub; and acquired the remaining 30% stake to take full ownership of its ground handling business in Brazil.

To ensure its future readiness to provide safe, high-quality services to its customers, dnata has committed US$100 million to implement green technologies and initiatives in its business, and invested US$17 million in its operations in Erbil, Iraq, including a chain advanced refrigeration, bus maintenance facility and a new cargo warehouse.

dnata's revenue, including other operating income, of AED xx billion (US$ xx billion) doubled compared to AED 3.7 billion (US$ 1 billion) generated in the same period last year.

dnata's total profit is AED 236 million (USD 64 million), compared to AED 85 million (USD 23 million) last year.

dnata's airport operations remain the largest contributor to revenue at AED 3.5 billion (USD 944 million), an increase of 37% compared to the same period last year, as customer demand has continued to pick up , particularly in its business in the United Arab Emirates, the US, Italy and the UK. Across all its operations, the number of aircraft shifts managed by dnata has increased by 56% to 347,581, handling 1.4 million tons of cargo, a slight 2% reduction, reflecting a greater commitment from its air customers in passenger operations.

dnata's inflight retail and catering operations have contributed AED 2.4 billion ($651 million) to revenue, up 212%, with strong production increases in Australia, the UK and the US. UU. to respond to customer demand. The number of meals served has risen sharply by 204% to 50.5 million compared to 16.6 million last year.

dnata's travel division contributed AED 1.2 billion ($323 million) to revenue, up 708% from AED 147 million ($40 million) in the same period last year, largely driven by the strong recovery in travel demand and bookings in its Middle East and UK businesses. The division has reported underlying total transaction value (TTV) sales of AED 4.7 billion ($1.3 billion), compared to AED 726 million ($198 million) during the same period last year.