EK Profit Down 88%

[Rhys Xanthis]

Wow.

DUBAI'S Emirates airline says its net profit for the first half of the financial year dropped a dramatic 88 per cent to $US77 million ($112.5 million) because of high oil prices.

The largest Middle East carrier said its profit for the six months to September 30 plunged from $US643 million ($939 million) in the same period last year.

"The first half of the year has been very tough for the airline industry, with record fuel prices forcing many carriers to shut shops or consolidate,'' Emirates chairman Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed al-Maktoum said in a statement.

[Marty H]

Not surprising really all airlines are currently being effected by higher oil prices and a softening market.

[Montague S]

Emirates isn't really hit by higher oil prices.

[Andrew McLaughlin]

Emirates isn't really hit by higher oil prices.

Not so much in Dubai, but it still has to buy fuel in Australia, NZ, the US, Europe and Asia, and it pays whatever it can negotiate with the suppliers like all other airlines.

[Saj_A]

Emirates isn't really hit by higher oil prices.

Sheikh Ahmed would perhaps disagree:

http://www.emirates.com/uk/english/about/news/news_detail.aspx?article=380047&offset=0

DUBAI, U.A.E., 10th November 2008 – Emirates Airline produced a net profit of Dhs 284 million (US $77 million), for the first six months of its current financial year ending 30th September 2008. This is down 88 per cent compared to Dhs 2.36 billion ($643 million) net profits for the same period in 2007, showing the impact of the record fuel prices earlier this year.


...

The drop in profits reflect a 40 per cent increase in airline unit costs per tonne kilometre, with fuel spend more than doubling from last year’s Dhs 4.1 billion ($1.1 billion) to Dhs 9.2 billion ($2.5 billion).

[Mike W]

Sheikh Ahmed would perhaps disagree:

http://www.emirates.com/uk/english/about/news/news_detail.aspx?article=380047&offset=0

Surely, a fair chunk of that increased fuel spend would be because they have more planes to fuel. Still, point taken, he has to pay for fuel like the next Airline owning Billionaire.
;)

[Saj_A]

True, they have a large widebody fleet - but I dont think any carrier has emerged unscathed from fuel hedging for the first half of 2008.

Even WN got hit...:eek: