Dubai, November 10 (BNA) The Emirates Group today announced its semi-annual results for the fiscal year 2021-22.
The group said group revenue amounted to 24.7 billion dirhams ($6.7 billion) for the first six months of 2021-22, an increase of 81% from 13.7 billion dirhams ($3.7 billion) during the same period last year.
This strong recovery in revenue has been fueled by the easing of travel restrictions around the world and a corresponding increase in demand for air transport as countries advance their COVID-19 vaccination programmes.
The group reported a semi-annual net loss for the 2021-22 period of AED 5.7 billion (US$ 1.6 billion), a significant improvement from its loss of AED 14.1 billion (US$ 3.8 billion) in the same period last year.
The group also announced an EBITDA of AED 5.6 billion (US$ 1.5 billion), a dramatic turnaround from negative earnings of AED 43 million (US$ 12 million) during the same period last year. Denotes its strong return on operating profitability.
The group continued to maintain a healthy cash position of 18.8 billion dirhams ($5.1 billion) as at September 30, 2021, compared to 19.8 billion dirhams ($5.4 billion) as on March 31, 2021.
“With the start of our fiscal year 2021-22, vaccination programs against COVID-19 have been launched on an unprecedented scale across the world,” said Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman and CEO of Emirates Airline and Group.
“Across the group, we have seen operations and demand rise as countries begin to ease travel restrictions. This momentum accelerated during the summer and continues to grow steadily into the winter and beyond.
“The cargo handling business continued to perform strongly, providing the basis on which we were able to quickly restore passenger services. While there is still some way to go before we bring our operations back to pre-pandemic levels and return to profitability, it is well on the path to recovery with Good returns and strong cash balance at the end of the first half of 2021-22.”
The Emirates Group was able to benefit from its strong cash reserves, access to financing through its owner and the broader financial community to support its business needs through the unprecedented challenges imposed by the Corona virus on the aviation and travel industry.
In the first half of 2021 to 2222, its owner injected 2.5 billion UAE dirhams ($681 million) into Emirates Airlines via equity investment, and they continue to support the company on its recovery path.
The Emirates Group employee base decreased slightly compared to March 31, 2021 by 2% to reach 73,571 on September 30, 2021.
In line with the expected increase in capacity and commercial activities in the coming months, Emirates and dnata have embarked on targeted recruitment campaigns to support their requirements, prioritizing the reassignment of staff previously on leave or redundant.
During the first six months of 2021-22, Emirates took delivery of two new A380s and recalled two older aircraft from its fleet as part of its long-term strategy to improve overall efficiency, reduce emissions and provide high-quality customer experiences.
Emirates carried 6.1 million passengers between April 1 and September 30, 2021, an increase of 319% over the same period last year.
Cargo volumes lifted to 1.1 million tons increased by 39%, bringing business back to 90% of pre-pandemic (2019) levels in terms of volume handled.