Key points
- As of March, Emirates Group had 314 aircraft pending delivery
- Emirates Group operates the world’s largest long-haul carrier
- It has a workforce of 121,223 employees
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates: Dubai’s Emirates Group, which includes the Middle East’s biggest airline, announced on Thursday gross annual profit of $6.2 billion, its third record in three years.
The 18 per cent rise in profit, based on strong customer demand, slimmed to $5.6 billion after the UAE’s recently introduced corporate tax, which was applied for a full financial year for the first time.
“The Emirates Group has raised the bar to set new records for profit, revenue and cash assets,” chairman Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum said in a statement.
Growth plans
The group invested $3.8 billion in new aircraft, infrastructure and technology “to support its growth plans”, the statement said.
The Emirates Group has raised the bar to set new records for profit, revenue and cash assets.” – Emirates Group chairman Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum
Its workforce grew by nine per cent to an unprecedented 121,223 employees.
$1.6 billion dividend
The group declared a $1.6 billion dividend to its owner, the Investment Corporation of Dubai (ICD).
Emirates airline, excluding the group’s other businesses, posted a record $5.8 billion pre-tax profit, up 20 per cent from the year before.
Its revenue grew by six per cent, reaching $34.9 billion.
Emirates’ ground services arm Dnata also boasted a record pre-tax profit of $430 million, up two per cent from last year.
State-owned Emirates Group operates the world’s largest long-haul carrier.
314 aircraft pending delivery
As of March, it had 314 aircraft pending delivery, including 61 A350s and 205 Boeing 777x, the statement said.
It said it was retrofitting 219 aircraft at a cost of $5 billion to make up for delayed aircraft orders.
Sheikh Ahmed had previously said the group was retrofitting 90 per cent of its fleet to make up for the delays.
