Karachi: The Emirates Group released its half-year results for the fiscal year 2021-22 today on Thursaday.

For the first six months of 2021-22, group revenue was AED 24.7 billion (US$ 6.7 billion), up 81 percent from AED 13.7 billion (US$ 3.7 billion) the previous year. The lifting of travel restrictions throughout the world, as well as the concomitant surge in demand for air travel as nations advanced through their COVID-19 immunization programs, fueled this robust revenue rebound.

The Group’s half-year net deficit for 2021-22 is AED 5.7 billion (US$ 1.6 billion), a significant improvement over the previous year’s loss of AED 14.1 billion (US$ 3.8 billion).

The Group’s cash position remained strong, at AED 18.8 billion (US$ 5.1 billion) on September 30, 2021, compared to AED 19.8 billion (US$ 5.4 billion) on March 31, 2021.

“As we entered our 2021-22 financial year, COVID-19 immunization activities were being pushed out at unprecedented scale throughout the world,” remarked His Highness (HH) Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive, Emirates Airline and Group.

As governments began to ease travel restrictions, the operations and demand rise up across the Group. This momentum grew stronger during the summer and is expected to continue into the winter and beyond.

Through the exceptional challenges wreaked on the aviation and tourism industries by COVID-19, the Emirates Group has been able to draw into its significant cash reserves and secure capital through its Owner and the broader financial community to meet its business requirements. Emirates’ Owner contributed AED 2.5 billion (US$ 681 million) in the first half of 2021-22 as an equity investment, and they continue to help the airline on its recovery route.

Emirates airline

Overall capacity climbed by 66 percent to 16.3 billion Available Tonne Kilometres (ATKM) in the first half of the year, owing to a significantly expanded flight schedule as more nations removed travel and aviation restrictions. Capacity, measured in Available Seat Kilometres (ASKM), increased by more than 250 percent, while passenger traffic, measured in Revenue Passenger Kilometres (RPKM), increased by 335 percent, with the average Passenger Seat Factor returning to 47.9%, compared to 38.6% previous year.

Between April 1 and September 30, 2021, Emirates handled 6.1 million passengers, gaining 319 percent from the same period the previous year. The volume of cargo hoisted climbed by 39% to 1.1 million tonnes, bringing the firm back to 90% of pre-pandemic (2019) levels in terms of tonnage handled. This demonstrates Emirates Skycargo’s exceptional agility and ability to satisfy its clients’ needs, whether it’s for the transportation of vaccinations and medicines, perishable products like food and perishables, or champion horses and high-performance vehicles.

Emirates’ operational expenditures climbed by 22% despite a 66 percent rise in overall capacity. Fuel prices have more than doubled from the same time last year. This was mostly owing to an 81 percent rise in fuel costs due to significantly increased flight operations in the six months leading up to the end of September, as well as an increase in average oil prices. Fuel, which was the greatest component of the airline’s operational costs prior to the epidemic, accounted for 20% of operating costs in the first half of this year, compared to only 11% in the first half of last year.

Emirates’ EBITDA rebounded to AED 5.0 billion (US$ 1.4 billion) in the first half of the year, up from AED 290 million (US$ 79 million) in the same time last year, thanks to a large rise in operations.

dnata

Wherever pandemic-related flight and travel limitations were lifted, demand for dnata’s cargo and ground handling, catering and retail, and travel services immediately returned.

dnata was able to respond swiftly to customer demands with high-quality services, demonstrating the agility and capability of its highly competent staff – from assisting airline customers in safely and seamlessly resuming aircraft operations to assisting consumers in booking long-awaited trip plans.

With AED 2.5 billion (US$ 688 million) in sales, dnata’s airport operations remain the greatest contributor to revenue, up 52 percent from the same period last year. The number of planes handled by dnata climbed by 116 percent to 222,668, while the amount of cargo handled increased by 9% to 1.4 million tonnes.