Emirates cargo revenue up 27% to $5.8bn on demand boost

Emirates reported a 27 percent increase in cargo revenue to AED 21.7 billion ($5.8 billion) for the year 2021-22 on strong demand for essential goods and medical supplies, accelerated vaccination programmes and global supply chain issues.

Cargo revenue accounted for 37 percent of the total revenue of AED 58.3 billion ($15.7 billion), down from 57 percent last year (AED 17.1 billion out of total revenue of AED 30.2 billion).

"Cargo volumes increased by 14.2 percent to 2.1 million tonnes (2020-21: 1.9 million tonnes) and reached almost 90 percent of FY19-20 level," according to the annual results 2021-22.

"As passenger travel ramped up, belly capacity also increased resulting in scheduled operations contributing to 59 percent (2020-21: 38 percent) of overall cargo tonnage carried this year. A reduction was noted in cargo tonnage for freighter operations due to an aircraft retirement and shift of volumes towards scheduled operations. Overall, FTKMs increased 30.6 percent to 12.7 billion (2020-21: 9.8 billion) as we maintained our strong position in the air freight industry. The yield per FTKM remained robust at 170 fils per FTKM (2020-21: 175 fils per FTKM)."

dnata returns to profits
dnata's total revenue increased 54 percent to AED 8.6 billion ($2.3 billion), and international business accounted for 62 percent of its revenue.

"dnata returned to profitability with a profit of AED 110 million ($30 million) in 2021-22."

dnata continued with investments in 2021-22 amounting to AED 370 million ($ 101 million). "During the year, dnata invested significantly in its cargo handling capabilities. It expanded existing facilities in Sydney, Australia; opened a state-of-the-art cargo centre at London Heathrow airport; and announced a fully automated cargo centre to be built at 'dnata Cargo City' at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport. It also introduced an advanced "OneCargo" system which digitises and automates business and operational functions at its Iraq cargo operations, with plans to roll out the system across its global cargo network."

The number of aircraft turns handled by dnata globally increased 82 percent to 527,501 and cargo handled increased 10 percent to three million tonnes.

During 2021-22, dnata expanded its global airport operations footprint into Africa. It signed a concession agreement with The Government of Zanzibar, where dnata will oversee the operations of the island's newly-built international terminal with its partners.

Group loss declines to $1bn
The Emirates Group posted a loss of AED 3.8 billion ($1 billion) due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic impact but the performance was a significant improvement from last year's loss of AED 22.1 billion ($ 6 billion).

"The Group's revenue was AED 66.2 billion ($18.1 billion), an increase of 86 percent over last year's results. The Group's cash balance was AED 25.8 billion ($7 billion), up 30 percent from last year, mainly due to strong demand across its core business divisions and markets, triggered by the easing of pandemic-related restrictions," according to the results announced.

Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive, Emirates Airline and Group, says: "This year, we focussed on restoring our operations quickly and safely wherever pandemic-related restrictions eased across our markets. Business recovery picked up pace particularly in the second half of the year. Robust customer demand drove a huge improvement in our financial performance compared to our unprecedented losses of last year and we built up our strong cash balance.

"Across Emirates and dnata, we responded to dynamic market conditions with agility, and introduced innovative products and services to meet our customers' needs and provide them with the best possible experience."

In 2021-22, Emirates received a further capital injection of AED 3.5 billion ($954 million) from the Government of Dubai, and the Group tapped on various industry support programmes and availed a total relief of nearly AED 0.8 billion ($216 million) in 2021-22, the statement added.