Emirates Airlines profits up 62 pct

0 Comments | AFP, April, 2008

DUBAI (AFP) — Dubai's Emirates Airlines on Wednesday posted a record 62.1 percent increase in its annual profits to 1.37 billion dollars in the financial year 2007-08 despite surging fuel costs.

Total revenues of the Middle East's largest carrier increased 32.3 percent to 39.5 billion dirhams (10.8 billion dollars), Emirates said in a statement.

Net profits jumped to five billion dirhams (1.37 billion dollars), compared to 3.1 billion dirhams (844 million dollars) in the previous financial year, it said.

The carrier's chief executive officer Sheikh Ahmad bin Saeed al-Maktoum said the government-owned airline managed to reduce the impact of high fuel costs "thanks to other operational profits".

"We saw another wonderful year of record results despite...