Wirraway
18th Nov 2004, 13:48
Fri "The Australian"
Emirates defies fuel rise to net $301m
Steve Creedy, Aviation writer
November 19, 2004
DUBAI-BASED Emirates has given competitors such as Qantas another reason for sleepless nights after recording its best ever half-year result in the six months to September 30.
The rapidly growing carrier's net profit of $US236 million ($301 million) was up 41 per cent on the previous year's result of $US167 million.
It said strong passenger and cargo demand combined with better yields to help offset higher costs due to escalating fuel prices.
Operating revenue rose 42 per cent to $US2.2 billion as passenger numbers increased by 25.5 per cent to 6.1 million.
The airline's load factor improved by 3.5 percentage points to 73.3 per cent.
Emirates Skycargo, the airline's ambitious freight arm which now flies six all-cargo Boeing 747 freighters, posted a 27 per cent rise in cargo tonnage to 401,500 tonnes.
The chairman of Emirates, Sheik Ahmed bin Saeed Al-Maktoum, said the results reflected a "superb performance" in the first quarter, but the second quarter had been severely affected by the dramatic increase in jet fuel prices.
"This is still affecting our performance and has forced us to adopt some stringent cost containment measures, like a hiring freeze on non-operation staff," he said. "We are looking constantly for other cost savings everywhere."
Emirates joined other airlines in imposing a fuel surcharge and Sheik Ahmed emphasised the need to maintain strong profitability to ensure the carrier's future.
The airline added a slew of new destinations this year and has a $US30 billion order book of 99 aircraft, which will double its fleet by 2012.
Its rapid and successful expansion is causing alarm among competing airlines in both Europe and Asia. It remains cashed up, with $US1.7 billion in the bank at September 30. This was after paying dividends of $US82 million and funding capital outflows of $US136 million that included aircraft pre-delivery payments.
Aircraft on Emirates' order book include 45 Airbus A380-800s - the biggest order so far for the super jumbo - as well as 30 Boeing 777-300ERs, four Airbus A340-500s and 20 Airbus A340-600 higher gross weight models.
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Emirates defies fuel rise to net $301m
Steve Creedy, Aviation writer
November 19, 2004
DUBAI-BASED Emirates has given competitors such as Qantas another reason for sleepless nights after recording its best ever half-year result in the six months to September 30.
The rapidly growing carrier's net profit of $US236 million ($301 million) was up 41 per cent on the previous year's result of $US167 million.
It said strong passenger and cargo demand combined with better yields to help offset higher costs due to escalating fuel prices.
Operating revenue rose 42 per cent to $US2.2 billion as passenger numbers increased by 25.5 per cent to 6.1 million.
The airline's load factor improved by 3.5 percentage points to 73.3 per cent.
Emirates Skycargo, the airline's ambitious freight arm which now flies six all-cargo Boeing 747 freighters, posted a 27 per cent rise in cargo tonnage to 401,500 tonnes.
The chairman of Emirates, Sheik Ahmed bin Saeed Al-Maktoum, said the results reflected a "superb performance" in the first quarter, but the second quarter had been severely affected by the dramatic increase in jet fuel prices.
"This is still affecting our performance and has forced us to adopt some stringent cost containment measures, like a hiring freeze on non-operation staff," he said. "We are looking constantly for other cost savings everywhere."
Emirates joined other airlines in imposing a fuel surcharge and Sheik Ahmed emphasised the need to maintain strong profitability to ensure the carrier's future.
The airline added a slew of new destinations this year and has a $US30 billion order book of 99 aircraft, which will double its fleet by 2012.
Its rapid and successful expansion is causing alarm among competing airlines in both Europe and Asia. It remains cashed up, with $US1.7 billion in the bank at September 30. This was after paying dividends of $US82 million and funding capital outflows of $US136 million that included aircraft pre-delivery payments.
Aircraft on Emirates' order book include 45 Airbus A380-800s - the biggest order so far for the super jumbo - as well as 30 Boeing 777-300ERs, four Airbus A340-500s and 20 Airbus A340-600 higher gross weight models.
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