Emirates Group’s half-year profits increase by 6%

The Emirates Group’s cash position on Sept. 30, was at 18.9 billion dirhams ($5.2 billion), compared to 19.1 billion dirhams ($5.2 billion) as of March 31, 2017.

The Emirates Group recently announced its half-year results for 2017-18. The group saw steady revenue growth and a rebound on profitability compared to the same period last year, in spite of the continuing downward pressure on margins, a rise in oil prices, and other challenges for the airline and travel industry.
The Emirates Group reported 49.4 billion dirhams ($13.5 billion) revenue for the first six months of its 2017-18 financial year, up 6 percent from 46.5 billion dirhams ($12.7 billion) during the same period last year.
Profitability rebounded after a low during the same period last year, with the group reporting a 2017-18 half-year net profit of 2.3 billion dirhams ($631 million), up 77 percent.
The group’s cash position on Sept. 30, 2017, was at 18.9 billion dirhams ($5.2 billion), compared to 19.1 billion dirhams ($5.2 billion) as of March 31, 2017.
Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al-Maktoum, chairman and chief executive of Emirates Airline Group said: “A lot of the credit for our 2017-18 half-year results goes to our talented workforce who have worked hard to improve our business performance, and address our challenges without compromising on quality and service.
“Our margins continue to face strong downward pressure from increased competition, oil prices have risen, and we still face weak economic and uncertain political realities in many parts of the world. Yet, the group has improved revenue and profit performance… The easing of the strong US dollar against other major currencies helped our profitability,” he said.
The Emirates chief also said: “We are also seeing the benefit from various initiatives across the company to enhance our capability and efficiency with new technologies and new ways of working. Moving forward, we will continue to keep a careful eye on costs while investing to grow our business and provide our customers with world-class products and services.”
In the past six months, the group’s employee base reduced by 3 percent compared to March 31, 2017, from an overall staff count of 105,746 to 102,669. This was largely a result of natural attrition together with a slower pace of recruitment, as various parts of the business adopted new technologies, streamlined business processes and re-allocated resources.