Dnata, Emirates' ground handling and travel services unit, is expanding its European business.
It said yesterday that it was acquiring Aviapartner’s cargo handling operations at Schiphol airport in Amsterdam even as an economic slowdown in China and other emerging markets is expected to affect cargo volumes this year.
The Dubai-based company, which had cash reserves of Dh3.1 billion at the end of last year, declined to disclose the cost of the acquisition.
Dnata will own and operate Aviapartner’s 44,000 square metres of cargo warehouse space in the Dutch capital.
The Brussels-based company handles about 360,000 tonnes of cargo a year at Schiphol with 430 employees. Dnata said it would retain the staff.
“Dnata is committed to ensuring the impact of this acquisition to the day-to-day activities of employees is minimal,” said a dnata spokeswoman.
The acquisition expands dnata's operations to 10 European airports – including Geneva, Zurich, London Heathrow and London Gatwick – from four airports two years ago. It now expects to handle 2 million tonnes of cargo across 26 airports globally a year.
Dnata said the acquisition would “enhance our growing international cargo network”.
The deal is expected to be completed in September pending regulatory approvals.
Dnata will also handle the Schiphol animal centre, the temperature control centre and the freighter ramp handling operations.
“The purchase by dnata not only gives them a huge presence in one of Europe’s busiest airport, it further de-risks dnata’s revenue stream,” said Saj Ahmad, an analyst at StrategicAero Research.
The cargo volume between the Middle East and North America in April grew 30.4 per cent from the year-earlier period, making it the fastest-growing cargo route globally, according to the International Air Transport Association (Iata). The Europe to Middle East route was in second place, with a 12.5 per cent growth rate.
The growth rates, however, trail behind previous months because of fleet capacity expansions, the strengthening US dollar and a global slowdown in the manufacturing sector, according to Iata.
An economic slowdown in China and other emerging markets could adversely affect the cargo sector this year, Iata said.
Last year, dnata made a profit of Dh906 million, its most in its 56 years of operation. Revenue rose 36 per cent to Dh10.3bn from a year earlier, with foreign operations accounting for about 60 per cent of that.
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hall of shame
SUNDERLAND 2002-03
No one has ended a Premier League season quite like Sunderland. They lost each of their final 15 games, taking no points after January. They ended up with 19 in total, sacking managers Peter Reid and Howard Wilkinson and losing 3-1 to Charlton when they scored three own goals in eight minutes.
SUNDERLAND 2005-06
Until Derby came along, Sunderland’s total of 15 points was the Premier League’s record low. They made it until May and their final home game before winning at the Stadium of Light while they lost a joint record 29 of their 38 league games.
HUDDERSFIELD 2018-19
Joined Derby as the only team to be relegated in March. No striker scored until January, while only two players got more assists than goalkeeper Jonas Lossl. The mid-season appointment Jan Siewert was to end his time as Huddersfield manager with a 5.3 per cent win rate.
ASTON VILLA 2015-16
Perhaps the most inexplicably bad season, considering they signed Idrissa Gueye and Adama Traore and still only got 17 points. Villa won their first league game, but none of the next 19. They ended an abominable campaign by taking one point from the last 39 available.
FULHAM 2018-19
Terrible in different ways. Fulham’s total of 26 points is not among the lowest ever but they contrived to get relegated after spending over £100 million (Dh457m) in the transfer market. Much of it went on defenders but they only kept two clean sheets in their first 33 games.
LA LIGA: Sporting Gijon, 13 points in 1997-98.
BUNDESLIGA: Tasmania Berlin, 10 points in 1965-66
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Unresolved crisis
Russia and Ukraine have been locked in a bitter conflict since 2014, when Ukraine’s Kremlin-friendly president was ousted, Moscow annexed Crimea and then backed a separatist insurgency in the east.
Fighting between the Russia-backed rebels and Ukrainian forces has killed more than 14,000 people. In 2015, France and Germany helped broker a peace deal, known as the Minsk agreements, that ended large-scale hostilities but failed to bring a political settlement of the conflict.
The Kremlin has repeatedly accused Kiev of sabotaging the deal, and Ukrainian officials in recent weeks said that implementing it in full would hurt Ukraine.