The Emirates Group has announced a new record half-year financial performance, posting a profit before tax of AED12.2 billion ($3.3 billion) for the first six months of 2025-26, making this the fourth consecutive year of record profitability for the half-year reporting period.
After accounting for
income tax charges, the Group’s profit after tax is AED10.6 billion
($2.9 billion), up 13% from last year.
Illustrating its
strong operating performance, the Group maintained a robust EBITDA of
AED21.1 billion ($5.7 billion), 3% higher than the AED20.4 billion ($5.6
billion) reported for the same period last year.
Group revenue was
AED75.4 billion ($20.6 billion) for the first six months of 2025-26, up 4%
from AED70.8 billion ($19.3 billion) last year.
The Group closed the
first half year of 2025-26 with a record cash position of AED56.0 billion ($15.2
billion) on 30 September 2025, compared to AED53.4 billion ($14.6 billion) on
31 March 2025. The Group has been able to tap on its own strong cash reserves
to support business needs, including funding for new aircraft deliveries and
servicing existing debt obligations. The Group also paid the remaining AED 2
billion ($545 million) in dividend to its owner, of the AED6 billion ($1.6
billion) declared during the financial year 2024-25.
Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed
Al Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive, Emirates Airline and Group said:
“The Group has once again delivered an outstanding performance, surpassing our
half-year results of last year to achieve a new record profit for H1 2025-26.
I’m delighted to note that Emirates maintains its position as the world’s most
profitable airline for this half-year reporting period.
“This performance was
primarily driven by the unflagging demand and growing customer preference for
our product and services, which drove revenue growth and profitability.
“Emirates and dnata
have invested billions to continually enhance our products and services, to
bring new products to market, to improve our operations through innovation and
technology, and to look after our employees who ensure our customers’ safety and
satisfaction. These are core to our DNA.
“The Group’s strong
profitability enables us to continue making these investments, and to scale up
our proven business models in concert with Dubai’s growth as a global city of
choice for talent, for businesses, and for tourists.”
Sheikh Ahmed added:
“Global demand for air transport and travel services has been buoyant, despite
geo-political events and economic concerns in some markets. We expect this
demand resilience to continue for the rest of 2025-26 and look forward to
increasing our capacity to grow revenues as new A350 aircraft join the Emirates
fleet, and new facilities come online at dnata.”
To support increased
operations and business activities, the Emirates Group’s employee base,
compared to 31 March 2025, grew 3% to an overall count of 124,927 on 30
September 2025. Both Emirates and dnata have ongoing recruitment drives to
support their future requirements.
Emirates airline
Emirates continued to
enhance its network and connectivity options through its Dubai
hub. During the first half of 2025-26, Emirates launched new flight
services to: Danang, Siem Reap, Shenzhen and Hangzhou. At 30 September,
Emirates’ passenger and cargo network spanned 153 airports in 81 countries and
territories.
The airline
strengthened its network connectivity by deploying 28 additional weekly
scheduled flights to: Antananarivo, Johannesburg, Muscat, Rome, Riyadh and
Taipei.
Providing even more
connection options for customers, during the first six months of 2025-26,
Emirates entered agreements with 3 codeshare and interline partners: Air
Seychelles, Condor, and Aurigny.
Between 1 April and 30
September, Emirates received delivery of 5 new A350 aircraft, adding more
Business Class and Premium Economy seats into the airline’s
inventory. During this period, 23 aircraft (6 A380s, 17 Boeing 777s)
with fully refreshed interiors rolled out of the airline’s $5 billion retrofit
programme. This enabled Emirates to bring its latest cabin products to even
more markets, including the industry-leading Emirates Premium Economy. By 30
September, Emirates Premium Economy was available to customers flying between
Dubai and 61 cities.
On ground, “Emirates
First” opened at Dubai Airport, offering First Class customers and Platinum
Skywards members a luxurious private check-in area and experience. In the first
six months of 2025-26, Emirates accelerated the roll-out of its retail strategy
with the opening of new concept travel stores in Accra, Bangkok,
Geneva, Jakarta, Mauritius, Osaka, Seoul, and Singapore.
Emirates continued to
progress on its environmental initiatives, uplifting sustainable aviation
fuel (SAF) where available and feasible, including at 37
airports. In April, Emirates joined the Aviation Circularity
Consortium (ACC), a network of organisations committed to building a circular
economy for aviation and creating new pathways to accelerate decarbonisation
through high-value circularity in the global supply chain.
In the first half of
2025-26, Emirates made notable investments to boost its global brand
visibility. The airline signed multi-year sponsorship deals to become Platinum
Partner of FC Bayern Munchen, Official Main Sponsor of Real Madrid Basketball,
and Premium Partner and Official Airline Partner of the Investec Champions Cup
and European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR) Challenge Cup. Emirates also
extended its partnership with ATP as Premier Partner and Official Airline of
the ATP Tour up to 2030, and its shirt sponsorship with Olympique Lyonnais
until 2030.
Overall capacity
during the first six months of the year increased by 5% to 31.3 billion Available
Tonne Kilometres (ATKM) due to expanded flight operations. Capacity
measured in Available Seat Kilometres (ASKM), increased by 5%, whilst
passenger traffic carried measured in Revenue Passenger Kilometres (RPKM) was
up by 4% with an average Passenger Seat Factor of 79.5%, compared
with 80.0% during the same period last year. Emirates carried 27.8 million
passengers between 1 April and 30 September 2025, up 4% from the same period
last year.
Emirates SkyCargo transported
1.25 million tonnes in the first six months of the year, up by 4% compared to
the same period last year. Customer demand for Emirates SkyCargo’s specialised
products and excellent network of freighter and bellyhold cargo operations remained
steady. However, cargo yields decreased by 6% due to softening demand
in some market segments amidst tariff concerns.
Emirates SkyCargo
added capacity from 3 new Boeing 777 freighter delivered. In April, the
cargo division launched Emirates Courier Express, an innovative product that
leverages the power of the airline’s global network to provide door-to-door
express shipping services for businesses.
Cementing its position
as the world’s most profitable airline for the half year reporting
period, Emirates profit before tax for the first half of 2025-26 hit
a new record of AED 11.4 billion ($3.1 billion), compared to AED 9.7 billion ($2.6
billion) last year. Emirates profit after tax is AED 9.9 billion ($2.7
billion), up 13% from last year.
Emirates revenue,
including other operating income, of AED 65.6 billion ($17.9 billion) was up 6%
compared with AED 62.2 billion ($16.9 billion) for the same period last year.
The airline’s new record revenue can be attributed to unabated travel appetite
across markets, and customer preference for Emirates’ products and services,
particularly for its premium cabins.
Emirates’ operating
costs (including fuel) grew by 4% in line with increased operations. Fuel
remains the largest component of the airline’s operating cost at 30%.
Driven by customer
demand and increased operations during the six months, Emirates’ EBITDA of
AED 19.7 billion ($ 5.4 billion) remained strong, up 3% compared to AED 19.1
billion ($5.2 billion) for the same period last year.
Emirates Flight
Catering grew revenue from external customers by 13% to AED 555 million ($151
million), uplifting 7.7 million meals (up by 2%) for 116 airlines during the
period.
Emirates Leisure
Retail acquired the remaining 25% stake in Air Ventures in the US,
securing full ownership of the entity, which operates airport retail and
F&B outlets.
dnata
dnata saw strong
growth in the first six months of 2025-26, as it continued to ramp up
operations across its cargo and ground handling, catering and retail, and
travel services businesses.
In the first half of
2025-26, dnata’s airport services and catering and retail divisions won several
significant new contracts and grew existing customers across its international
operations. This shows dnata’s ability to serve the diverse requirements of its
airline customers with high safety standards and consistently high-quality
products and services.
dnata continued to
make strategic investments in its business to respond to customer needs and tap
on market prospects. It announced plans to deploy 800 new ground support
equipment (GSE) units across its global network in 2025, an investment valued
at $110 million to further enhance operational performance and secure a steady
supply of advanced, lower-emission equipment to support dnata’s growth and
sustainability targets.
Other highlights in
the first half of 2025-26 include: the launch of its airport hospitality brand,
marhaba, in the United Kingdom; a €3 million minority stake investment in
WonderMiles, an advanced NDC-enabled booking platform to strengthen dnata
Travel’s corporate business offering; and the disposal of its 75% stake in
Super Bus, which operates sightseeing tours in the UAE.
dnata also entered its
first major sports sponsorship partnership, signing a three-year agreement with
Dubai Basketball to become a Founding Partner of the city’s first professional
basketball franchise.
dnata achieved a
new record half-year revenue, crossing the $ 3.0 billion mark for the first
time for this reporting period. dnata’s revenue, including other
operating income, of AED 11.7 billion ($3.2 billion) increased by 13% compared
to AED 10.4 billion ($2.8 billion) generated in the same period last year.
Overall profit
before tax for dnata is AED 843 million ($230 million), up by 17% from the
same period last year. dnata’s profit after tax is AED 697 million ($190
million), up 22% from last year.
Illustrating its
operating performance, dnata’s EBITDA was AED 1.4 billion ($372
million), up 5% from last year’s AED 1.3 billion (US$ 354 million).
dnata’s airport
operations remains the largest contributor to revenue with AED 5.5 billion
($1.5 billion), a 15% increase compared to the same period last year, as its
airline customers’ operations continued to pick up particularly in Italy,
Australia, the UK and the UAE. Across its operations, the number
of aircraft turns handled by dnata increased by 15% to 450,903 bolstered
by its newly launched operations at Rome Fiumicino Airport, and it recorded
1.59 million tonnes of cargo handled, up by 3% due to additional cargo
handling driven by its UAE operations.
dnata’s flight
catering and retail operations, contributed AED 4.1 billion ($1.1 billion) to
its revenue, up 11% as its retail product grew significantly as part of the
division’s strategy, catering production increases in Australia and the UK to
meet customer demand, and the positive impact of revised contracts to reflect
rising supply costs. The overall number of meals uplifted slightly decreased by
1% to 60.0 million meals compared to last year.
dnata's travel division contributed AED 2.0 billion ($538 million) to revenue, up 11% compared to AED 1.8 billion ($483 million) for the same period last year. The division reported an underlying total transactional value (TTV) of AED 5.0 billion ($1.4 billion), compared to AED 4.5 billion ($1.2 billion), up 9% compared to the same period last year. -TradeArabia News Service