Emirates achieved its best-ever results despite the turmoil caused by war in the Middle East, which grounded part of its fleet in the final month of the financial year. The Dubai state-owned airline said that since the regional conflict triggered by the US-Israeli attack on Iran on February 28, the company has faced major challenges - airspace closures and thousands of flight cancellations.
Emirates Airline said it has resumed about three-quarters of its pre-war flights, covering 96% of destinations around the world. The airline also said it had sufficient fuel to resume full operations and made clear its opposition to hasty cost-control measures to deal with the global jet fuel shortage.
In the 12 months to the end of March, boosted by strong travel demand and the delivery of new aircraft, Emirates’ pre-tax profit increased by 7% to a record US$6.6 billion; revenue increased by 3% to US$41 billion, also setting a record high in the company’s history.
The Chairman of Emirates Group said on Thursday: "Emirates Group has weathered crises and disruptions many times. Despite the severe challenges encountered in the last month of the financial year, this outstanding performance once again confirms the resilience and strength of the group's business model."
He added: "Emirates Group has done so with great success. Entering the 2026-27 fiscal year, we have sufficient cash reserves to support our steady progress in business strengthening plans without hasty control of expenses. Aircraft delivery and modification projects will continue to accelerate, and planned investments in new facilities and equipment will also proceed as scheduled. "
Emirates is a non-listed company and does not issue performance guidance for the next fiscal year. He said that the company's fundamentals are solid and its mature business model remains unchanged; it did not receive capital injections from shareholders during the conflict.
Other airlines have begun cutting costs or canceling flights - jet fuel prices have doubled since the war. Delta Air Lines will cut its capacity by 3.5%, Lufthansa will cancel 20,000 flights and close its regional airlines early.
Cirium, an aviation data agency, shows that global airlines have cut a total of about 2 million seat capacity in May.
Affected by the war, Emirates’ annual passenger volume declined slightly, from 53.7 million to 53.2 million; the passenger load factor dropped slightly from 78.9% to 78.4%.