The Emirates Group have announced its 30th consecutive year of profit and steady business expansion.
In its 2017-18 Annual Report, the Emirates Group posted a profit of US$1.1 billion, [4.1 billion United Arab Emirates Dirham] AED for the financial year ended 31 March 2018, up 67% from last year.
The Group declared a dividend of AED 2.0 billion (US$ 545 million) to the Investment Corporation of Dubai
Highlights of the report
The Group’s revenue reached AED 102.4 billion (US$ 27.9.billion), an increase of 8% over last year’s results.
The Group’s cash balance increased by 33% to AED 25.4 billion (US$ 6.9 billion) supported by the bond issued in March and strong sales due to the early Easter holidays at the end of March.
In 2017-18, the Group collectively invested AED 9.0 billion (US$ 2.5 billion) in new aircraft and equipment, the acquisition of companies, modern facilities, the latest technologies, and staff initiatives
Across its more than 80 subsidiaries, the Group’s total workforce declined by 2% to 103,363, representing over 160 different nationalities, as part of the overall productivity improvement initiatives in Emirates and dnata.
Emirates Airline Performance during the year
- Emirates’ total passenger and cargo capacity crossed the 61 billion mark, to 61.4 billion ATKMs at the end of 2017-18, cementing its position as the world’s largest international carrier.
- The airline moderately increased capacity during the year over 2016-17 by 2%, with a focus on yield improvement
- The airline successfully managed strong competitive pressure across all markets and increased its profit to AED 2.8 billion (US$ 762 million), an increase of 124% over last year’s results, and a profit margin of 3.0%.
- Emirates carried a record 58.5 million passengers (up 4%) and achieved a Passenger Seat Factor of 77.5%.
- Emirates raised AED 17.9 billion (US$ 4.9 billion), using a variety of financing structures, including the successful execution of a US$ 600 million sukuk in March to fund the acquisition of two A380 aircraft to be delivered in 2018.
Dnata Performance during the year
- In its 59 years of operation, 2017-18 has been dnata’s most profitable year, crossing AED 1.3 billion (US$ 359 million) profit for the first time.
- Building on its strong results in the previous year, dnata’s revenue grew to AED 13.1 billion (US$ 3.6 billion), up 7%. Dnata’s international business now accounts for 68% of its revenue.
- The strong performance was achieved through organic growth with key contract wins coupled with solid customer retention across its four business divisions, as well as the impact of acquisitions from the previous year.
- In 2017-18, dnata’s operating costs increased accordingly by 8% to AED 11.9 billion (US$ 3.2 billion
- Revenue from dnata’s UAE Airport Operations, including ground and cargo handling, increased by 4% to reach AED 3.2 billion (US$ 859 million)
- Its International Airport Operations division grew revenue by 14% to AED 3.8 billion (US$ 1.0 billion]
- The number of aircraft handled by the division further increased substantially by 10% to 449,000, and Cargo noted a substantial growth of 10% to 2.4 million tonnes of handled goods.
- Its catering business accounted for AED 2.1 billion (US$ 585 million) of its total revenue, up 7%. The in-flight catering business uplifted more than 55 million meals to airline customers.
Emirates Group is a Dubai-based international aviation holding company headquartered in Garhoud, Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
The group comprises Dnata, an aviation services company providing ground handling services at 17 airports, and Emirates Airline the largest airline in the Middle East. Emirates Airlines flies to over 140 destinations across 6 continents and operating a fleet of over 250 wide-bodied aircraft.
