Dubai-based carrier Emirates airline will next month report financial results for the first half of 2019 that will be “better than last year”, the carrier’s president, Tim Clark, told reporters on Sunday.
“I’m content that it is better than we thought it would be, given that we had to shut the airport, one of the runways, for seven weeks and it’s also better than last year,” he said on the sidelines of the AVSEC Global 2019 conference, which is currently taking place in Dubai.
The airline group will report its H1 financial results in early October. Dubai International Airport was forced to close one of its two between April 16 and May 30 for a complete rehabilitation programme. It was reported in August that the airport processed 41.3 million passengers in the first half of 2019, down more than 5 percent on the same period the previous year.
Last year, Emirates reported a 86 percent year-on-year drop in net profit during the first half of the 2018-19 financial year, despite a 10 percent rise in revenues to AED48.9 billion ($13.3 billion).
“The high fuel cost as well as currency devaluations in markets like India, Brazil, Angola and Iran, wiped approximately AED 4.6 billion from our profits,” Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, chairman and CEO of Emirates Airline and Group said at the time.
“The next six months will be tough, but the Emirates Group’s foundations remain strong. I’m pleased to note that our home and hub in Dubai continues to attract travel demand, as the airline saw 9 percent more customers enjoying Dubai as a destination in the first half of 2018-19 compared to the same period last year. We expect this demand to remain healthy as new attractions come online and the city gears up for Dubai Expo 2020,” he added.
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