São Paulo – Emirates Airline posted US$ 225 million profit from April to September this year, a 76% decline over the same period of 2010. However, the company’s revenues increased during the period. According to the balance sheet disclosed last Thursday (3rd), revenues stood at US$ 8.3 billion, 15% more than the US$ 7.2 billion recorded in the same period of 2010.
In a statement, the company’s CEO, Ahmed Bin Saeed Al-Maktoum, claimed that the company “remains focused on its long-term strategy” in spite of the global economic instability and rising fuel prices, which caused the company to spend US$ 1 billion more this year than in the same period of 2010. The decline in profit was ascribed to this.
“We have continued to invest in our eco-efficient aircraft fleet, in strengthening our global route network, and also in supporting the infrastructure for our growing business,” said Maktoum.
The company did not disclose how many passengers it carried during the period, but claims that passenger and cargo volume have increase in the first half of the fiscal year, which begins on April 1st and ends on March 31st of the following year. Occupancy rates, which reached 81.2% from October 2010 to March 2011, dropped to 79,3% from April to September this year.
Emirates has a fleet of 161 aircraft, including 93 Boeing 777s and 17 Airbus A380s, the largest passenger aircraft in the world. Since the beginning of this year, the company received 10 new aircraft, and should receive another 13 by March 2012.
The airline flies to 115 destinations in 67 countries. Since April, it started flying to Geneva, Copenhagen and Saint Petersburg. In 2012, the company will inaugurate routes to Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires, Dallas, Seattle, Dublin, Harara and Lusaka. This month, a route will be inaugurated to Baghdad, Iraq.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
