The Emirates Group has announced record-breaking net profits of $708 million for the financial year ended 31 March 2005 – an impressive $232 million, or 49 per cent, over the previous year.

Group revenue increased by $1.4 billion or 36 per cent, to $5.2 billion compared to $3.8 billion last year. The group’s cash balance totalled a robust $2.2 billion at the end of March, an improvement of 12 per cent compared with $2 billion a year earlier.

For 2004-05, Emirates will pay an increased dividend of $100 million to its owner, the Government of Dubai, compared to $90 million last year.

Once again, the group’s sharp sales growth and record returns indicates its customers’ increasing preference for its products, as illustrated by the 2.1 million more passengers who flew Emirates in the latest financial year, for a new record total of 12.5 million.

The 2004-05 annual report of the Emirates Group – comprising Emirates Airline, Dnata and subsidiary companies – was released at a news conference hosted by its chairman, His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al-Maktoum.

Sheikh Ahmed said: “We’ve had yet another successful year for the company, and the 17th consecutive profitable one for the airline. Our customers are the pillar of Emirates’ good fortune. Their continued custom is a vote of confidence in the high-value product that we constantly strive to give them.

“The rapid-growth Emirates business model requires a high rate of return to sustain our enormous investments in people, advanced equipment and facilities, as well as in IT and other support services.

“As before, after paying a fair dividend to the Group’s ownership, and rewarding our employees with a well-deserved bonus, we will plough our healthy profits right back into the business to keep our airline and travel-related group of companies competitive, and to keep treating our customers in the manner they’ve come to expect from Emirates.”

In his opening review of the 2004-2005 Annual Report, Sheikh Ahmed commented on the dramatic rise in jet fuel prices. At Emirates, fuel costs rose from 14 per cent of total operating expenditure to 21 per cent and became the airline’s top expense, from a distant second in 2003-04.

Emirates, in line with other airlines, was also forced to increase fuel surcharges on tickets, which did not fully cover the escalating costs. The airline’s jet fuel risk management programme helped to bring its fuel costs down by $126 million in 2004-05, but the price outlook remains sombre.

The airline’s revenues totalled $4.9 billion for the year, $1.3 billion or 36 per cent above the income of $3.6 billion in 2003-2004.

Airline profits of $637 million were $208 million or 49 per cent better than last year’s profits of $429 million.

With the addition of nine new aircraft during the financial year, Emirates’s fleet count reached 75 at the end of March.

In 2004-05, Emirates Airline kept its place among the world’s five most profitable carriers and ranked 15th in the world in terms of RPKMs (Revenue Passenger Kilometre).

The airline is forecasting that its fleet will exceed 150 aircraft by 2012 – including 12 freighters – and anticipates carrying some 33 million passengers by then.

Emirates SkyCargo set a new record, with nearly 840,000 tonnes of freight carried, up almost 180,000 tonnes or 27 per cent from last year’s 660,000. The revenue of the airline’s cargo division of Dhs3.4 billion ($940 million) was Dhs1 billion ($282 million) or 43 per cent higher than the year before, and raised its contribution to the carrier’s transport revenue from 20 to 21 per cent.

Destination and Leisure Management – another division of Emirates Airline – enjoyed strong revenue improvement of 37 per cent to Dhs803 million ($219 million), supported by more than 300,000 customers, and with six of its destinations experiencing especially sharp growth: Singapore, Australia, Austria, Switzerland, Hong Kong and New Zealand.

Dnata – 46 years in business and thriving – enjoyed healthy growth throughout the year and record turnovers within its three divisions.

Its revenues reached Dhs1.4 billion ($385 million), Dhs320 million ($87 million) or 29 per cent above last year’s Dhs1.1 billion ($298 million).

Dnata’s profits of Dhs260 million ($71 million) represent an increase of Dhs87 million ($24 million) or 50 per cent compared to last year’s Dhs174 million ($47 million).

As at 31st March 2005, the Group employed 25,000 people, compared with 22,500 a year before, and received 240,000 job applications in the preceding 12 months.

Employees came from a total of 124 countries, with more than 100 nationalities being represented among the 5,600 cabin crew, and 60 among the airline’s 1,135 captains and first officers – nearly 100 of them are UAE nationals.

The Group’s Facilities Management Department, with a property portfolio that includes 175,000 square metres of commercial space in Dubai, is presently supervising Dhs2.5 billion ($681 million) worth of projects underway. These include such things as the new Emirates Engineering Centre, the new group headquarters building, the crew training college, a security building, warehousing and several building extensions.

It also manages 6,200 villas and apartments, most of which are dedicated to housing company staff.