Emirates Group books record $5.1b annual profit

DUBAI, May 13 (AFP): Dubai's Emirates Group announced annual profits of $5.1 billion on Monday, a rise of 71 per cent, as the airline company set a new record for the second year in a row.

Citing strong customer demand, it said group profits for the past two years hit $8.1 billion, surpassing the losses seen during pandemic-hit 2020-2022.

"The Emirates Group has once again raised the bar to deliver a new record performance," chairman and chief executive Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum said in a statement.

State-owned Emirates Group, operator of the world's largest long-haul carrier, announced a record $3.0 billion in profits last year as it returned to the black after the Covid pandemic.

Emirates has now erased the $1.1 billion loss in 2021-2022 and the heavy $5.5 billion deficit a year earlier, when it was forced to ground its fleet and lay off staff.