Emirates Group achieves record profit of $ 6.2 b

Airline and Group Chairman and Chief Executive Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum

The media was provided with an exclusive static tour of the Emirates’ new A350 flight to Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) yesterday.  The A350 marks a new era for the airline’s fleet strategy, joining the A380 and Boeing 777 as part of a modern, fuel-efficient line-up. The Emirates A350 will feature three travel classes: Business, Premium Economy and Economy Class — Pix by Daminda Harsha Perera 

The Emirates Group yesterday released its 2024-25 Annual Report, achieving new record profit, EBITDA, revenue, and cash balance levels. This outstanding performance places the Emirates Group as the most profitable aviation group globally in the 2024-25 reporting period, with Emirates reporting the best result in its history to become the world’s most profitable airline.

Both Emirates and dnata contributed record revenues in 2024-25, as the Group expanded its operations around the world to meet voracious customer demand for its high-quality products and services.

The Group declares a dividend of $ 1.6 billion to its owner, the Investment Corporation of Dubai (ICD).

This is the first financial year that the UAE corporate tax, enacted in 2023, is applied to the Emirates Group. After accounting for the 9% tax charge, the Group’s profit after tax is $ 5.6 billion.

Emirates airline and Group Chairman and Chief Executive Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum said: “It is no accident that Dubai has produced hugely successful global aviation entities including Emirates and dnata. Dubai’s aviation sector has become an influential force on the global stage thanks to visionary leaders, strategic planning, co-ordinated execution, and strong support from our customers, business partners, and all the people of Dubai.

“When the government set up Emirates 40 years ago and we began expanding dnata’s capabilities to support the city’s growth, we had a clear mission – be the best at what we do; and deliver value to Dubai, our stakeholders, and the communities we serve.

“With that in mind, we’ve kept a laser focus on providing great products and services, and we continually invest in technology and talent to increase our competitive edge. We look after our people and our customers, and we work hard to positively impact our communities. We don’t cut corners, and we don’t take shortcuts that put our future at risk for short term gains. By building our business models around these principles and Dubai’s unique strengths, the Emirates Group has thrived and stayed resilient through geo-political and socio-economic challenges over the years.”

Sheikh Ahmed added: “For 2024-25, the Emirates Group has raised the bar to set new records for profit, revenue, and cash assets. Through the year, Emirates and dnata were able to move quickly to meet the strong demand for air transport services across markets and win over customers – thanks to our non-stop investments in our people, in building partnerships, and in delivering great products and services.

“I’d like to thank our amazing people at the Emirates Group for achieving another record year, and our customers and partners for their trust and support. My gratitude to Dubai’s visionary leaders Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, and his sons Sheikh Hamdan and Sheikh Maktoum, for their continued leadership and stewardship of Dubai’s strategy, in which the Emirates Group is proud to play a key role.”

In 2024-25, the Group collectively invested $ 3.8 billion in new aircraft, facilities, equipment, companies, and the latest technologies to support its growth plans.

The Group’s total workforce grew by 9% to 121,223 employees, its largest size ever, as Emirates and dnata continued recruitment activity around the world to support its expanding operations and boost its future capabilities.

Commenting on the outlook for 2025-26, Sheikh Ahmed said: “We enter the year ahead with excitement and optimism. Our excellent financial standing enables us to continue building on and scaling up from our successful business models. While some markets are jittery about trade and travel restrictions, volatility is not new in our industry. We simply adapt and navigate around these challenges.

“Emirates will strengthen our network connectivity with the expected delivery of 16 A350s and 4 Boeing 777 freighters in 2025-26, providing much-needed capacity to meet customer demand. Our retrofit program will continue apace to provide our customers the latest Emirates products and a more consistent experience across our A380, 777 and A350 fleet.

“dnata is on a steady growth path with facility investments coming to fruition in key markets, including the opening of new facilities in Amsterdam, Dubai and Erbil next year which will significantly expand our cargo handling capacity and capabilities.

“Work is already underway at the new Al Maktoum International airport (DWC) and broader development around Dubai South. Our planning teams are working closely with Dubai airports and other entities to design and deliver the future of aviation and the best possible travel experiences.

“We’ve set high targets for ourselves, but I am confident that our talented workforce and Dubai’s winning formula will empower the Emirates Group to forge an even brighter future, and deliver even more value to the people, cities and communities we serve.” 

Emirates’ total passenger and cargo capacity grew 4% to 60.0 billion ATKMs in 2024-25, recovering to near pre-pandemic levels.

During the year, Emirates launched two new destinations – Bogotá and Madagascar; restarted flights to Phnom Penh, Lagos, Adelaide and Edinburgh; and strengthened services to 21 other destinations to meet rising demand. By 31 March, Emirates served 148 cities in 80 countries and territories. Emirates also grew its partnerships to 33 codeshare and 118 interline partners, providing customers smooth access to over 1,750 cities beyond its network.

The first Airbus A350 aircraft joined Emirates’ fleet this year, bringing added capacity for the airline to serve customer demand with its latest products, including the popular Premium Economy Class and a new-generation inflight entertainment system. By 31 March, Emirates had four A350s in its fleet flying to Edinburgh, Ahmedabad, Bahrain, Colombo, Kuwait and Mumbai.

With ongoing delays in new aircraft deliveries, Emirates added 99 more aircraft to its retrofit programme which will now see 219 aircraft go through a full cabin refresh at a total investment of $ 5 billion. At 31 March, Emirates’ order book had 314 aircraft pending delivery, including 61 A350s, 205 Boeing 777x, 35 787s, and 13 777Fs.

Total fleet count at the end of March was 260 units, with an average fleet age of 10.7 years.

By strategically deploying capacity to serve surging demand across markets, Emirates’ total revenue for the financial year increased 6% to $ 34.9 billion. Currency fluctuations and devaluations in some of the airline’s major markets negatively impacted the airline’s profitability by $ 196 million.

Emirates saw a record operating cash flow of $ 11.1 billion in 2024-25, which reflects its strong commercial performance and enables the airline to grow the business going forward.

Total operating costs increased by 4% from last financial year. Fuel and employee cost were the airline’s two biggest cost components in 2024-25, followed by cost of ownership (depreciation and amortisation). Fuel accounted for 31% of operating costs compared to 34% in 2023-24. The airline’s fuel bill decreased slightly to $ 8.9 billion compared to $ 9.3 billion the previous year, as lower average fuel price (down 10%) including hedging gains offset a higher uplift of 5% from increased flying.

With robust appetite for travel across customer segments, the strength of its global network, and strong customer preference for its products, Emirates hit a new record profit after tax of $ 5.2 billion, outstripping last year’s $ 4.7 billion result with an exceptional profit margin of 14.9%. This is the best performance in the airline’s history, and in the airline industry for the reporting year 2024-25.

Emirates carried 53.7 million passengers (up 3%) in 2024-25, with seat capacity up by 4%. The airline reports a Passenger Seat Factor of 78.9%, a marginal decline from 79.9% last year. Passenger yield remained consistent at 36.6 fils (10.0 US cents) per Revenue Passenger Kilometre (RPKM).

Emirates continued to invest in delivering ever better customer experiences. In addition to a range of inflight service enhancements in 2024-25, Emirates invested AED 63 million in its lounge product, opening two new lounges at London Stansted and Jeddah to bring the total number of dedicated Emirates Lounges globally to 41; and renovated existing facilities in Bangkok and Paris. This is part of a long-standing strategy to provide premium customers with signature experiences at key stations across the network, not only at its hub. The airline also launched its Emirates Chauffeur-Drive Service to Riyadh, expanding this signature service to over 70 cities.

Emirates World, its premium travel retail store, opened in 8 global cities at an investment of AED 34 million, providing a bespoke environment for specialist consultants to serve more customers in person, in their communities.

Emirates SkyCargo delivered an outstanding year, carrying 2.3 million tons of goods around the world, up 7% from the previous year as the delivery of 2 new Boeing 777 freighters and 2 wet-leased 747 freighters unlocked capacity to serve surging demand for air transport.

Ably navigating the ongoing challenges in global logistics, the cargo division reported a solid revenue of $ 4.4 billion, contributing 13% to Emirates’ total revenue. Cargo yield per Freight Tonne Kilometre (FTKM) increased by 10%, returning to pre-pandemic marketplace levels.

This strong performance reflects Emirates SkyCargo’s ability to win customer preference and serve demand with its specialist logistics solutions, the power and connectivity of Emirates’ global network, Dubai’s world-class intermodal logistics capabilities, and the airline’s ongoing investments in digital technology, infrastructure, and tailored products.

During the year, Emirates added Copenhagen to its freighter network and signed an MoU with Astral Aviation to expand its reach in Africa. Emirates Delivers, an e-Commerce delivery solution, was launched in Saudi Arabia to connect local shoppers with online retailers in the US and UK. As part of its ongoing digitisation push, our cargo division launched eQuote, a digital ‘self-service’ touchpoint that enables customers in 75 countries to request and manage spot quotations anytime, anywhere. 

Emirates placed orders for 10 more Boeing 777Fs, a significant investment to strengthen its cargo division’s position at the centre of global trade and logistics. Emirates SkyCargo has 13 freighters on order and expects to operate a fleet of 21 freighters by December 2026.

At the end of March, Emirates’ SkyCargo’s total freighter fleet stood at 10 Boeing 777Fs.