The Emirates Group has announ­ced its half-year results for its 2019-20 financial year.

Group revenue was AED 53.3 billion ($14.5 billion) for the first six months of 2019-20, down two per cent from AED54.4 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.

Profitability was up eight per cent compared to the same period last year, with the group reporting a 2019-2020 half-year net profit of AED1.2 billion ($320 million). The profit improvement was primarily due to the decline in fuel prices of nine per cent compared to the same period last year; however, the gain from lower fuel costs were partially offset by negative currency movements.

The group’s cash position on September 30, 2019 stood at AED23 billion ($6.3 billion), compared to AED22.2 billion ($ 6 billion) as at March 31, 2019.

The group’s cash position on September 30, 2019 stood at AED23 billion ($6.3 billion), compared to AED22.2 billion ($ 6 billion) as at March 31, 2019.

Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, chairman and chief executive, Emirates Airline and Group

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 AED2 billion compared to the same period last year. However, unfavourable currency movements wiped off approximately AED1.2 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 focused 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.”

The Emirates Group’s employee base remained unchanged compared to March 31, 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.

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

The airline’s long-standing strategy to invest in the most advanced wide-body aircraft enables it to improve overall efficiency, minimise its emissions footprint, and provide high-quality customer experiences.

Emirates continues to offer ever better connections for its customers across the globe with just one stop in Dubai. 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 September 30, Emirates’ global network spanned 158 destinations in 84 countries. Its fleet stood at 267 aircraft including freighters.

Overall capacity during the first six months of the year declined by seven 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 five per cent, while passenger traffic carried measured in revenue passenger kilometres (RPKM) was down by two 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 April 1 and September 30, 2019, down two per cent from the same period last year; however, passenger yield increased by one per cent period-on-period. 

Emirates operating costs shrank by eight per cent against the overall capacity decrease of seven 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 nine per cent compared to same period last year), as well as a lower fuel uplift due to reduced capacity during a 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.