E-commerce traffic sees Emirates SkyCargo H12024 tonnage increase 16%

Emirates SkyCargo transported 1,198,000 tonnes in the first half of financial year 2024-25 ending September 30, up 16 percent compared to the same period last year with significant volume contributions from strong Chinese e-commerce traffic and an increase in shipments bound for Dubai.

Overall capacity during the first six months of the year increased by five to 29.9 billion Available Tonne Kilometres (ATKM) due to expanded flight operations, says an official release.

"Emirates SkyCargo was able to meet demand with added capacity from one new Boeing 777 freighter delivered, and two additional wet-leased Boeing 747Fs. During the first six months of 2024-25, Emirates placed orders for 10 additional Boeing 777 freighters to support its growth."

Strong demand for Emirates SkyCargo’s specialised products and network of freighter and bellyhold cargo operations saw cargo yields increase by 11 percent, the release added.

Emirates revenue, including other operating income, of $16.9 billion was up five percent compared with $16.2 billion) for the same period last year "on consistently strong travel and air cargo demand across markets."

Profit after tax came in at $2.4 billion, a drop of seven percent on higher operating costs (up six percent), the release added.

dnatadnata’s airport operations remains the largest contributor to revenue with $1.3 billion, a 15 percent increase compared to the same period last year. "Across its operations, the number of aircraft turns handled by dnata increased by two percent to 391,365, and it recorded 1.5 million tonnes of cargo handled, up by 18 percent due to the buoyant demand for air cargo services globally."

dnata’s revenue, including other operating income, of $2.8 billion increased by 11 percent while profit after tax dropped 19 percent to $156 million.

Emirates GroupRevenue increased five percent to $19.3 billion and net profit was down eight percent at $2.5 billion.

"The Group closed the first half year of 2024-25 with a solid cash position of $11.9 billion on September 30, 2024 compared to $12.8 billion) on March 31, 2024. The Group has been able to tap on its own strong cash reserves to support business needs, including payments for new freighter aircraft orders and other debt payments."

Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive, Emirates Airline and Group says: “The Group has surpassed its record performance of last year to deliver a fantastic result for the first half of 2024-25. This again illustrates the power of our proven business model working in combination with Dubai’s growth trajectory as a city of choice to live, work, visit, connect through, and do business in.

“The Group’s strong profitability enables us to make the investments necessary for our continued success. We’re investing billions of dollars to bring new products and services to the market for our customers; to implement advanced technologies and other innovation projects to drive growth; and to look after our employees who work hard every day to ensure our customers’ safety and satisfaction.

“We expect customer demand to remain strong for the rest of 2024-25, and we look forward to increasing our capacity to grow revenues as new aircraft join the Emirates fleet and new facilities come online at dnata. The outlook is positive, but we don’t intend to rest on our laurels. We will stay agile in deploying our capacity and resources in a dynamic marketplace.”

First published on stattimes