Emirates Group posts 8pc surge in H1 net profit

The Emirates Group has posted a net profit of Dh1.2 billion ($320 million) for the first six months of 2019-20, marking a rise of  8 per cent compared to the same period last year, as well as 7.9 per cent increase in passengers carried to Dubai.
 
The profit improvement was primarily due to the decline in fuel prices of 9 per cent compared to the same period last year, however the gain from lower fuel costs were partially offset by negative currency movements, an airline statement said.

Group revenue was Dh53.3 billion ($14.5 billion) for the first six months of 2019-20, down 2 per cent from Dh54.4 billion ($14.8 billion) during the same period last year. This slight revenue decline was mainly due to planned capacity reductions during the 45-day Southern Runway closure at Dubai International airport (DXB), and unfavourable currency movements in Europe, Australia, South Africa, India, and Pakistan.

The Group’s cash position on September 30, 2019 stood at Dh23.0 billion ($6.3 billion), compared to Dh22.2 billion ($6.0 billion) as at March 31, 2019.
 
Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, chairman and chief executive, Emirates Airline and Group, said: "The Emirates Group delivered a steady and positive performance in the first half of 2019-20, by adapting our strategies to navigate the tough trading conditions and social-political uncertainty in many markets around the world.”

“Both Emirates and dnata worked hard to minimise the impact of the planned runway renovations at DXB on our business and on our customers. We also kept a tight rein on controllable costs and continued to drive efficiency improvement, while ensuring that our resources were deployed nimbly to capitalise on areas of opportunity.

 “The lower fuel cost was a welcome respite as we saw our fuel bill drop by Dh2.0 billion compared to the same period last year. However, unfavourable currency movements wiped off approximately Dh1.2 billion from our profits.

“The global outlook is difficult to predict, but we expect the airline and travel industry to continue facing headwinds over the next six months with stiff competition adding downward pressure on margins. As a Group we remain focussed on developing our business, and we will continue to invest in new capabilities that empower our people, and enable us to offer even better products, services, and experiences for our customers.”  

Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, chairman and chief executive, Emirates Airline and Group said: “The Emirates Group’s employee base remained unchanged compared to 31 March 2019, at an overall average staff count of 105,315. This is in line with the company’s planned capacity and business activities, and also reflects the various internal programmes to improve efficiency through the implementation of new technology and workflows.”

Emirates airline

During the first six months of 2019-20, Emirates received 3 Airbus A380s, with 3 more new aircraft scheduled to be delivered before the end of the 2019-20 financial year. It also retired 6 older aircraft from its fleet with a further 2 to be returned by 31 March 2020.

In the first six months of its financial year, Emirates added two new passenger routes: Dubai-Bangkok-Phnom Penh, and Dubai-Porto (Portugal). As of 30 September, Emirates’ global network spanned 158 destinations in 84 countries. Its fleet stood at 267 aircraft including freighters.

Emirates also further developed its partnership with flydubai. Both airlines continued to leverage their complementary networks to optimise flight schedules and offer new city-pair connections through Dubai, as well as open new routes including Naples (Italy) and Tashkent (Uzbekistan) in the first half of 2019-20. Customers also enjoy even more benefits with a single loyalty programme under Emirates Skywards, and passengers connecting between Emirates and flydubai can experience seamless transits with 22 flydubai flights now operating from Emirates Terminal 3 at DXB.

Overall capacity during the first six months of the year declined by 7 per cent to 29.7 billion Available Tonne Kilometres (ATKM) mainly due to the DXB runway closure and reduction in fleet during this 45-day period. Capacity measured in Available Seat Kilometres (ASKM), shrunk by 5 per cent, whilst passenger traffic carried measured in Revenue Passenger Kilometres (RPKM) was down by 2 per cent with average Passenger Seat Factor rising to 81.1 per cent, compared with last year’s 78.8 per cent.

Emirates carried 29.6 million passengers between 1 April and 30 September 2019, down 2 per cent from the same period last year, however, passenger yield increased by 1 per cent period-on-period. The volume of cargo uplifted at 1.2 million tonnes has decreased by 8 per cent while yield declined by 3 per cent. This reflects the tough business environment for air freight in the context of global trade tensions and unrest in some key cargo markets.

In the first half of the 2019-20 financial year, Emirates net profit was Dh862 million ($235 million), up 282 per cent, compared to last year. Emirates revenue, including other operating income, of Dh47.3 billion ($12.9 billion) was down 3 per cent compared with the Dh48.9 billion ($13.3 billion) recorded during the same period last year. This result was driven by increased agility in capacity deployment, with healthy customer demand for Emirates’ products driving improved seat load factors and better margins.

Emirates operating costs shrunk by 8 per cent against the overall capacity decrease of 7 per cent. On average, fuel costs were 13 per cent lower compared to the same period last year, this was largely due to a decrease in oil prices (down 9 per cent compared to same period last year), as well as a lower fuel uplift due to reduced capacity during 45-day runway closure at DXB. Fuel remained the largest component of the airline’s cost, accounting for 32 per cent of operating costs compared with 33 per cent in the first six months of last year.

Dnata

Dnata’s international operations during the first half of 2019-20 accounted for over 72 per cent of its revenue, compared to 68 per cent during the same period last year.

Dnata’s revenue, including other operating income, was Dh7.4 billion ($2.0 billion), a 5 per cent increase compared to Dh7.0 billion ($1.9 billion) last year. This performance was underpinned by robust business growth and further global expansion, particularly in its catering business.

Overall profit for dnata was down by 64 per cent to Dh311 million ($85 million), compared to last year’s result which included an Dh321 million one-off gain from the divestment of dnata’s 22 per cent stake in the travel management company Hogg Robinson Group (HRG). Dnata’s half year profit for 2019-20 was further impacted by the bankruptcy of Thomas Cook, one of its major customers for dnata’s travel and catering businesses in the UK, resulting in an impairment loss on trade receivables and intangible assets amounting to Dh84 million.

Dnata’s airport operations remains the largest contributor to revenue with Dh3.6 billion ($983 million), a slight increase as compared to the same period last year. Across its operations, the number of aircraft handled by dnata remained steady with 351,194, and it handled 1.5 million tonnes of cargo, down 6 per cent. – TradeArabia News Service