Emirates half-year profit up 13% to $2.9bn: statement

DUBAI: Dubai’s Emirates Group, which includes the Middle East’s biggest airline, announced half-year profits of 10.6 billion dirhams ($2.9 billion) on Wednesday, up 13 percent from last year.

Despite regional turmoil including the brief Israel-Iran war, profits before corporate tax, introduced in 2023, were a record $3.3 billion for the first half of the 2025-2026 fiscal year which begins in April.

This marks “the fourth consecutive year of record profitability for the half-year” for the world’s largest long-haul carrier, an Emirates statement said.

“Global demand for air transport and travel services has been buoyant, despite geopolitical events and economic concerns in some markets,” chairman Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum said.

Revenues for the group, wholly owned by Dubai’s government, were $20.6 billion, up four percent from $19.3 billion last year.

“We expect this demand resilience to continue for the rest of 2025-26 and look forward to increasing our capacity to grow revenues,” Sheikh Ahmed said.

Regional flareups, including the conflict in Gaza and the 12-day war between Israel and Iran, resulted in disruptions to flights from several Gulf carriers this year.

Flights were also briefly halted during Iran and Israel’s separate attacks on targets in Qatar in June and September.

Emirates made a profit after tax of $2.7 billion, up 13 percent from last year.