The Emirates Group, consisting of the Emirates airline and the Dubai National Air Travel Agency (dnata), has released its 2022-2023 annual report, revealing its most profitable year ever and new record profits.
Both Emirates and dnata saw significant revenue increases in 2022-23 as the Group expanded its air transport and travel related operations following the removal of nearly all Covid-19 travel restrictions around the world.
For the financial year ended 31 March 2023, the Emirates Group posted a record profit of AED 10.9 billion (US$ 3.0 billion) compared with an AED 3.8 billion (US$ 1.0 billion) loss for last year. The Group’s revenue was AED 119.8 billion (US$ 32.6 billion), an increase of 81% over last year’s results. The Group’s cash balance was AED 42.5 billion (US$ 11.6 billion), the highest ever reported, up 65% from last year mainly due to strong demand across its core business divisions and markets.
We had anticipated the strong return of travel and as the last travel restrictions lifted and triggered a tide of demand, we were ready to expand our operations quickly and safely to serve our customers.
HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive, Emirates airline and Group
“Our ongoing investments in our brand and in our products and services, helped drive customer preference and position us favourably in the market”, commented HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive, Emirates airline and Group. “As a result, we have delivered a record financial performance and cash balance for our financial year 2022-23. This reflects the strength of our proven business model, our careful forward planning, the hard work of all our employees, and our solid partnerships across the aviation and travel ecosystem.”
In 2022-23, the Group collectively invested AED 7.2 billion (US$ 2.0 billion) in new aircraft, facilities, equipment, companies and the latest technologies to position the business for future growth. Their commitments include: a massive multi-billion dollar aircraft cabin retrofit programme; an order for 5 new 777 freighters; the building of a new pilot training centre; the opening of Bustanica, the world’s largest vertical farm in Dubai under a partnership with CropOne; new training aircraft for its cadets at Emirates Flight Training Academy; dnata’s acquisition of 30% shares to gain full ownership of its ground handling operations in Brazil; and the building of a new advanced cargo facility in Erbil, Iraq.
The Emirates Group also continued to progress on its sustainability journey during the year. Notably, it signed up to the United Nations Global Compact, a voluntary initiative where Emirates and dnata will work towards making the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Principles part of their strategy, culture and operations. The Group also signed the UAE Gender Balance Council’s pledge to increase female representation at mid-senior management positions to 30% across the country by 2025.
Amongst its environmental initiatives, a key highlight was the successful conduct of a demonstration flight with 100% sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) in one engine of a Boeing 777. This first-in-region initiative contributes to collective industry data and efforts to enable a future of 100% SAF flying. dnata in 2022-23 pledged to invest US$ 100 million (AED 367 million) over 2 years, to improve environmental efficiency across its global business, supporting its goal to reduce its carbon footprint by 50% by 2030.
