The Emirates Group today announced its half yearly results, including a AED2.1 billion (€450 million) net profit for the first six months of its current fiscal year ending 30th September 2012, up 68% from AED1.3 billion (€278 million) from 30th September 2011, and an increased overall seat factor of 80%.
Even with a challenging operating environment, the Group continued to invest in and expand on its employee base, increasing its overall staff count by more than 8% in just six months to nearly 68,000.
During the six months, Emirates received 13 wide-body aircraft, including two A380s and 10 B777s and one freighter, with more than 15 new aircraft scheduled for delivery before the end of the financial year (31st March 2013). As the fleet increased, Emirates added five new destinations that joined the 10 new routes added since 30th September 2011, for a total of 15.
Equipped with the world’s largest fleet of A380s and the largest fleet of B777s, Emirates now flies to 126 destinations, up from 114 last year, and to 74 countries compared with 67 last year. The airline has launched five new destinations since 1st April 2012 including Ho Chi Minh City, Barcelona, Lisbon, Erbil and Washington DC. Additional new routes being added during the second half of the fiscal year include Adelaide, which launched on 1st November, and the upcoming routes of Lyon, Phuket, Warsaw and Algiers.
New A380 destinations for the airline for the first six months of fiscal year 2012-13 included Tokyo and Amsterdam, bringing the total number of A380 destinations to 19.
Capacity measured in Available Seat Kilometres (ASKM), grew by 17.3%, while passenger traffic carried measured in Revenue Passenger Kilometres (RPKM) was up 17.8%, with Passenger Seat Factor sustained at a high level, averaging 80%, slightly above last year’s 79%. Emirates carried 18.7 million passengers since 1st April 2012, up 15.4% for the same period last year. The volume of cargo uplifted was up by more than 16%, a significant growth against the market trend.
