Inayat-ur-Rahman, Business Editor

The Emirates Group on Thursday announced its half-year results for its 2022-23 financial year. The group recorded a 2022-23 half-year net profit of Dhs 4.2 billion ($1.2 billion), a record half-year performance, and a turnaround of almost Dhs10 billion from its Dhs5.7 billion ($1.6 billion) loss for the same period last year.

The group also reported an EBITDA of Dhs15.3 billion ($4.2 billion), a marked improvement from Dhs 5.6 billion ($1.5 billion) during the same period last year, illustrating its strong operating profitability.

 The group revenue was Dhs 56.3 billion ($15.3 billion) for the first six months of 2022-23, up 128% from Dhs 24.7 billion ($6.7 billion) last year. This was driven by the strong demand for air transport across the world with the further easing and removal of pandemic-related travel restrictions.

 The group closed the first half year of 2022-23 with a strong cash position of Dhs 32.6 billion ($8.9 billion) on 30 September 2022, compared to Dhs 25.8 billion ($7.0 billion), as on 31 March 2022. The group has been able to tap on its own strong cash reserves to support business needs, including debt payments and pandemic-related commitments.

 Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive, Emirates Airline and Group said: “The group’s record performance for the first six months of 2022-23 is the result of forward planning, agile business response, and the efforts of our talented and committed workforce.

“Across the Group, our operations recovery accelerated as more countries eased and removed travel restrictions. We were ready and amongst the first movers to serve the strong customer demand thanks to our robust business plans, the support of our industry partners, and our ongoing investments in people, technology, and products and services.

“For the coming months, we remain focussed on restoring our operations to pre-pandemic levels and recruiting the right skills for our current and future requirements. We expect customer demand across our business divisions to remain strong in H2 2022-23. However, the horizon is not without headwinds, and we are keeping a close watch on inflationary costs and other macro-challenges such as the strong US dollar and the fiscal policies of major 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, the Emirates Group’s employee base, compared to 31 March 2022, grew 10% to an overall count of 93,893 at 30 September 2022. Both Emirates and dnata have also embarked on targeted recruitment drives to support their future requirements.

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 across markets.

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

By 30 September, the airline was operating passenger and cargo services to 140 airports, utilising its entire Boeing 777 fleet and 73 A380s.

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

Emirates continued to introduce new product and customer initiatives to deliver on its ‘fly better’ promise, including enhanced menus across all cabin classes, and the launch of a new hospitality programme to uplift service training and delivery. In August, Emirates launched its full Premium Economy experience to hugely positive, “booked-out” customer response 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 fitted with these popular seats roll out of its retrofit programme.

Overall capacity during the first six months of the year increased by 40% to 22.8 billion Available Tonne Kilometres (ATKM) due to an expanded flight programme as more countries eased travel restrictions.  Capacity measured in Available Seat Kilometres (ASKM), increased by 123%, whilst passenger traffic carried measured in Revenue Passenger Kilometres (RPKM) was up by 265% with an average Passenger Seat Factor of 78.5%, compared with 47.9% during the same period last year.

Emirates carried 20.0 million passengers between 1 April and 30 September 2022, up 228% from the same period last year. Emirates Skycargo uplifted 936,000 tonnes in the first six months of the year, a 14% decrease compared to the same period last year, as the airline shifted capacity from its “mini-freighters” back to passenger operations.