An Emirates Airbus A380 aircraft. The airline has so far recovered about 95 per cent of its pre-Covid network size. AFP
An Emirates Airbus A380 aircraft. The airline has so far recovered about 95 per cent of its pre-Covid network size. AFP

Emirates posts $2.4 billion first-half profit in UAE's first corporate tax year



Emirates, the world's biggest long-haul airline, posted a first-half profit after tax of Dh8.7 billion ($2.4 billion) in the first financial year that the UAE corporate income tax is applied to the company.

This is 7 per cent below the Dh9.4 billion post-tax profit the airline recorded during the first six months of its financial year from April to September. The figures for September 2024 and September 2023 are not directly comparable, given that it's the first fiscal year that the UAE corporate income tax of 9 per cent applies to Emirates' financial reporting, it said on Thursday.

The Dubai-based airline's profit before tax reached a record of Dh9.7 billion in the April to September period, compared to Dh9.5 billion for the same time a year ago, reflecting strong travel and air cargo demand across its markets, Emirates said.

The airline's revenue rose five per cent year-on-year to a record Dh62.2 billion.

“We expect customer demand to remain strong for the rest of 2024-25, and we look forward to increasing our capacity to grow revenues as new aircraft join the Emirates fleet and new facilities come online at dnata,” Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed, chairman and chief executive of Emirates airline and group, said.

“The outlook is positive, but we don’t intend to rest on our laurels. We will stay agile in deploying our capacity and resources in a dynamic marketplace.”

Emirates recorded strong travel demand in the first six months of its fiscal year, despite the Israel-Gaza war.

Like many other airlines, Emirates flights to Israel, Lebanon, Iraq, Jordan and Iran have been impacted by the Gaza war and Israeli attacks on Lebanon.

However, in the first half of the year, Emirates increased flights to eight cities: Amsterdam, Cebu, Clark, Luanda, Lyon, Madrid, Manila and Singapore. It also opened new routes to Bogota through Miami in June and Madagascar through Seychelles in September.

Dubai International Airport, Emirates' home base, in the first six months of this year handled a record 44.9 million people, up 8 per cent on the same period of 2023.

Emirates carried 26.9 million passengers between April and September, up 3 per cent from the same period last year. Capacity, measured in Available Seat Kilometres (ASKM), increased by 4 per cent.

Load factor, a measure of how well an airline fills available seats with paying passengers, dipped to 80 per cent in the first half of the financial year from 81.5 per cent the previous year.

The airline's direct operating costs, including fuel, rose by 6 per cent in line with increased operations, it said.

Fuel remains the largest component of the operating cost, at 32 per cent, compared to 34 per cent in the same period last year, it said.

Emirates' freight arm, SkyCargo, carried nearly 1.2 million tonnes in the first six months, up 16 per cent compared on the same period last year, with “notable volume contributions from strong Chinese e-commerce traffic, and a rise in shipments bound for Dubai”, it said.

Emirates group, which includes global airport services company Dnata, recorded post-tax profit of Dh 9.3 billion, after accounting for the 9 per cent tax charge, it said.

The group's pre-tax profit rose one per cent year-on-year to a record Dh10.4 billion in the April to September period.

Group revenue rose five per cent to a record Dh70.8 billion, reflecting “consistently strong” customer demand across business divisions and across regions it operates it, Emirates said.

“This again illustrates the power of our proven business model working in combination with Dubai's growth trajectory as a city of choice to live, work, visit, connect through and do business in,” Sheikh Ahmed said.

The group closed the six months with a cash position of Dh43.7 billion on September 30, down from Dh47.1 billion in March.

“The group has been able to tap on its own strong cash reserves to support business needs, including payments for new freighter aircraft orders and other debt payments,” it said.

The group also paid Dh2 billion in dividends to its Dubai government owner, as previously disclosed at the end of its 2023-2024 financial year.

The group’s workforce grew 3 per cent year-on-year to 114,610 as of September 30.

Dnata, the group's global airport services unit, recorded a 19 per cent drop in profit after tax of Dh571 million. Pre-tax profit declined 5 per cent to Dh720 million, mainly due to a one-off impairment charge of Dh152 million, the airline said.

How to protect yourself when air quality drops

Install an air filter in your home.

Close your windows and turn on the AC.

Shower or bath after being outside.

Wear a face mask.

Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.

If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.

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How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE

When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.

Wicked
Director: Jon M Chu
Stars: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey
Rating: 4/5

Essentials
The flights: You can fly from the UAE to Iceland with one stop in Europe with a variety of airlines. Return flights with Emirates from Dubai to Stockholm, then Icelandair to Reykjavik, cost from Dh4,153 return. The whole trip takes 11 hours. British Airways flies from Abu Dhabi and Dubai to Reykjavik, via London, with return flights taking 12 hours and costing from Dh2,490 return, including taxes. 
The activities: A half-day Silfra snorkelling trip costs 14,990 Icelandic kronur (Dh544) with Dive.is. Inside the Volcano also takes half a day and costs 42,000 kronur (Dh1,524). The Jokulsarlon small-boat cruise lasts about an hour and costs 9,800 kronur (Dh356). Into the Glacier costs 19,500 kronur (Dh708). It lasts three to four hours.
The tours: It’s often better to book a tailor-made trip through a specialist operator. UK-based Discover the World offers seven nights, self-driving, across the island from £892 (Dh4,505) per person. This includes three nights’ accommodation at Hotel Husafell near Into the Glacier, two nights at Hotel Ranga and two nights at the Icelandair Hotel Klaustur. It includes car rental, plus an iPad with itinerary and tourist information pre-loaded onto it, while activities can be booked as optional extras. More information inspiredbyiceland.com

Singham Again

Director: Rohit Shetty

Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone

Rating: 3/5

From Zero

Artist: Linkin Park

Label: Warner Records

Number of tracks: 11

Rating: 4/5

MATCH INFO

Barcelona 2
Suarez (10'), Messi (52')

Real Madrid 2
Ronaldo (14'), Bale (72')

SPECS

Engine: 4-litre V8 twin-turbo
Power: 630hp
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: 8-speed Tiptronic automatic
Price: From Dh599,000
On sale: Now

F1 line ups in 2018

Mercedes-GP Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas; Ferrari Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen; Red Bull Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen; Force India Esteban Ocon and Sergio Perez; Renault Nico Hülkenberg and Carlos Sainz Jr; Williams Lance Stroll and Felipe Massa / Robert Kubica / Paul di Resta; McLaren Fernando Alonso and Stoffel Vandoorne; Toro Rosso TBA; Haas F1 Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen; Sauber TBA

SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20APPLE%20M3%20MACBOOK%20AIR%20(13%22)
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Temple numbers

Expected completion: 2022

Height: 24 meters

Ground floor banquet hall: 370 square metres to accommodate about 750 people

Ground floor multipurpose hall: 92 square metres for up to 200 people

First floor main Prayer Hall: 465 square metres to hold 1,500 people at a time

First floor terrace areas: 2,30 square metres  

Temple will be spread over 6,900 square metres

Structure includes two basements, ground and first floor 

Citadel: Honey Bunny first episode

Directors: Raj & DK

Stars: Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Kashvi Majmundar, Kay Kay Menon

Rating: 4/5

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
 
Started: 2020
 
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
 
Based: Dubai, UAE
 
Sector: Entertainment 
 
Number of staff: 210 
 
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners

UAE v Zimbabwe A, 50 over series

Fixtures
Thursday, Nov 9 - 9.30am, ICC Academy, Dubai
Saturday, Nov 11 – 9.30am, ICC Academy, Dubai
Monday, Nov 13 – 2pm, Dubai International Stadium
Thursday, Nov 16 – 2pm, ICC Academy, Dubai
Saturday, Nov 18 – 9.30am, ICC Academy, Dubai

COMPANY PROFILE

Name: Qyubic
Started: October 2023
Founder: Namrata Raina
Based: Dubai
Sector: E-commerce
Current number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Initial investment: Undisclosed 

The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
On sale: Now
Sarfira

Director: Sudha Kongara Prasad

Starring: Akshay Kumar, Radhika Madan, Paresh Rawal 

Rating: 2/5

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Company%20Profile
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If you go

Flights

Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh with a stop in Yangon from Dh3,075, and Etihad flies from Abu Dhabi to Phnom Penh with its partner Bangkok Airlines from Dh2,763. These trips take about nine hours each and both include taxes. From there, a road transfer takes at least four hours; airlines including KC Airlines (www.kcairlines.com) offer quick connecting flights from Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville from about $100 (Dh367) return including taxes. Air Asia, Malindo Air and Malaysian Airlines fly direct from Kuala Lumpur to Sihanoukville from $54 each way. Next year, direct flights are due to launch between Bangkok and Sihanoukville, which will cut the journey time by a third.

The stay

Rooms at Alila Villas Koh Russey (www.alilahotels.com/ kohrussey) cost from $385 per night including taxes.

FROM%20THE%20ASHES
%3Cp%3EDirector%3A%20Khalid%20Fahad%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EStarring%3A%20Shaima%20Al%20Tayeb%2C%20Wafa%20Muhamad%2C%20Hamss%20Bandar%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERating%3A%203%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
GRAN%20TURISMO
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MATCH INFO

Newcastle United 3
Gayle (23'), Perez (59', 63')

Chelsea 0

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The specs
 
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
Getting%20there%20and%20where%20to%20stay
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UPI facts

More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions

Company%20Profile
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PFA Team of the Year: David de Gea, Kyle Walker, Jan Vertonghen, Nicolas Otamendi, Marcos Alonso, David Silva, Kevin De Bruyne, Christian Eriksen, Harry Kane, Mohamed Salah, Sergio Aguero

Kanguva
Director: Siva
Stars: Suriya, Bobby Deol, Disha Patani, Yogi Babu, Redin Kingsley
Rating: 2/5
 
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Updated: November 07, 2024, 12:22 PM

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