Emirates posts 62% profit increase to $1.37bn

Emirates Airlines on Wednesday posted a record 62.1 per cent increase in its annual profits to $1.37 billion in the financial year 2007-08 despite surging fuel costs.

Total revenues of the Middle East's largest carrier increased 32.3 per cent to Dh39.5 billion, Emirates said in a statement.

Net profits jumped to Dh5bn, compared to Dh3.1bn in the previous financial year, it said.

The carrier's chief executive officer Sheikh Ahmad bin Saeed Al Maktoum said the government-owned airline managed to reduce the impact of high fuel costs “thanks to other operational profits.”

“We saw another wonderful year of record results despite difficult circumstances, mainly during the last six months, as the price of fuel increased to unprecedented levels,” he said in the statement.

The number of passengers carried by Emirates increased to 21.2 million, or 3.7 million passengers more than the previous year, it said.

Emirates, which launched operations in 1985 with two leased airliners, now flies a young fleet of 114 planes, with an average age of 67 months per aircraft.

It has also placed firm orders for 182 aircraft including 58 Airbus A380 superjumbos.

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