Emirates airline’s profit dropped 69 per cent in the 2018-19 financial year as higher oil prices, strengthened US dollar and intensified competition eroded earnings.
The Dubai-based carrier reported a profit of US$ 237 million for the financial year ended on 31 March 2019, as the revenue grew by 6 per cent to US$ 26.7 billion.
In its 2018-19 annual report released on Thursday, the parent company of the international carrier, Emirates Group declared a profit of US$ 631 million for the financial year, down 44 per cent from last year.
However, the Group’s revenue reached US$ 29.8 billion, an increase of 7 per cent over last year’s results.
“2018-19 has been tough, and our performance was not as strong as we would have liked”, Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive of Emirates Airline and Group said, according to a press statement.
“The uptick in global airfreight demand from the previous year appears to have gone into reverse gear, and we also saw travel demand weaken, particularly in our region”
Emirates airline during 2018-19, carried 58.6 million passengers (up 0.2 per cent). With seat capacity increasing by 4 per cent, the airline achieved a Passenger Seat Factor of 76.8 per cent.
Emirates presently operates three flights a day from Dhaka offering convenient connections via Dubai to over 150 destinations in its global network.