Emirates airline, the world's biggest long-haul carrier, expects a stronger performance in its current fiscal year than the last, as it benefits from a reversal in US President Donald Trump's electronics ban and closer ties with low-cost sister service flydubai.
Emirates is also seeking to raise $1.1 billion in an Islamic bond sale, with the proceeds to be used partially for aircraft financing, chairman of Emirates Group Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed said on the sidelines of a GE Aviation event in Dubai on Tuesday. The airline expects an increase in annual earnings for the fiscal year ending March 31 compared with the previous year.
“It’s going to be better than last year in general,” Sheikh Ahmed said, declining to provide details of the growth.
The projected increase comes after Emirates, which operates the world's largest fleet of wide body aircraft, saw profits plunge 82 percent in the 2016-17 fiscal year. The carrier's performance for the first six months of 2017-18 financial year was a marked improvement with profits soaring 111 per cent to Dh1.7bn.
The rise in profitability came as the airline implemented a number of measures which included a reduction in its payroll and charging for advance seat selection to boost revenues.
Factors that have weighed on earnings in the last financial year have begun to ease with the lifting of a ban on electronics on US flights and travel restrictions on passengers from certain Middle East countries to the US. The airline is working to ramp up some of the routes it had scaled back following the restrictions.
Demand on US routes is “much better now,” Sheikh Ahmed said.
__________
Read more:
Emirates Group net profit soars 77% in first half to Dh2.3 billion
Emirates-Flydubai codeshare deepens choice for customers, boosts carrier gains
Emirates group full year profit falls 70 per cent as airline grapples with higher costs and reduced fares
__________
Emirates’ move to forge closer links with discount carrier flydubai last year, in the first stirrings of regional airline consolidation in response to economic headwinds, will also help improve its bottom line, analysts said.
"The new network structure between Emirates and flydubai has the potential to improve yields," said Mark Martin, head of aviation company Martin Consulting in Dubai. Flydubai's regional flights will help fill Emirates' jets, particularly as African, CIS and South East Asian markets have a need for long-haul connectivity, he said.
"I am very pleased with the cooperation between the two," Sheikh Ahmed said. "It's beyond our expectations and we'll see it very much closer to the summer schedule."
Next year, both airlines will have to contend with repairs on one of the two runways at their home base in Dubai International Airport for 45 days. The southern runway will be closed from April 16 to May 30 in 2019, resulting in reduced capacity and airlines scaling back their operations.
"The biggest cut will be on Emirates and flydubai," Sheikh Ahmed told reporters at the official opening of US conglomerate GE's aircraft engine repair facility close to Dubai's second hub at Al Maktoum International Airport. All operators at Dubai International are being informed in advance in order for schedules to be adjusted, he added.
GE Aviation is expanding its regional presence with a second engine repair and maintenance operations facility in the UAE, where it will support all local carriers including Emirates, flydubai, Air Arabia and Etihad Airways. It did not disclose the value of the investment. The On-Wing Support Centre at Dubai South Aviation District spans 1,500 square metres and is entirely owned and run by GE. Emirates has been operating the other facility in conjunction with GE since 2013.
Around 1,000 GE-manufactured engines power 400 aircraft in the Middle East, the company's global chief executive John Flannery said on Monday. The firm's regional expansion comes as the UAE is ramping up efforts to grow its aviation manufacturing and maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) industries, centred within the Dubai South free zone.
GE is using new manufacturing technologies including 3D-printing to develop a new turbo propeller aircraft engine over the next two years, Mr Flannery said. The 3D-printing mechanism is expected to help GE – which is undergoing a hefty restructuring after suffering its worst financial slump in 125 years – trim costs by around 5 per cent.
The new engine will give airline customers a 20 per cent improvement in fuel burn and 10 per cent more power output, Mr Flannery said.
US-listed GE's stock fell 12 per cent in February, marking the 12th consecutive monthly decline and representing the group's biggest losing streak on record, according to Bloomberg. Shareholder losses amounted to $138bn as the group battles falling demand for industrial equipment and other factors.
Mr Flannery was appointed as chief executive in mid-2017 to cut costs and reshape the portfolio to help the company recover.
Titanium Escrow profile
Started: December 2016
Founder: Ibrahim Kamalmaz
Based: UAE
Sector: Finance / legal
Size: 3 employees, pre-revenue
Stage: Early stage
Investors: Founder's friends and Family
At a glance
- 20,000 new jobs for Emiratis over three years
- Dh300 million set aside to train 18,000 jobseekers in new skills
- Managerial jobs in government restricted to Emiratis
- Emiratis to get priority for 160 types of job in private sector
- Portion of VAT revenues will fund more graduate programmes
- 8,000 Emirati graduates to do 6-12 month replacements in public or private sector on a Dh10,000 monthly wage - 40 per cent of which will be paid by government
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
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Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
The biog
From: Upper Egypt
Age: 78
Family: a daughter in Egypt; a son in Dubai and his wife, Nabila
Favourite Abu Dhabi activity: walking near to Emirates Palace
Favourite building in Abu Dhabi: Emirates Palace
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
THE BIO:
Favourite holiday destination: Thailand. I go every year and I’m obsessed with the fitness camps there.
Favourite book: Born to Run by Christopher McDougall. It’s an amazing story about barefoot running.
Favourite film: A League of their Own. I used to love watching it in my granny’s house when I was seven.
Personal motto: Believe it and you can achieve it.
Company profile
Name: Infinite8
Based: Dubai
Launch year: 2017
Number of employees: 90
Sector: Online gaming industry
Funding: $1.2m from a UAE angel investor
Torbal Rayeh Wa Jayeh
Starring: Ali El Ghoureir, Khalil El Roumeithy, Mostafa Abo Seria
Stars: 3
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'Spies in Disguise'
Director: Nick Bruno and Troy Quane
Stars: Will Smith, Tom Holland, Karen Gillan and Roshida Jones
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
LEAGUE CUP QUARTER-FINAL DRAW
Stoke City v Tottenham
Brentford v Newcastle United
Arsenal v Manchester City
Everton v Manchester United
All ties are to be played the week commencing December 21.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
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The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
On sale: Now
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In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
Company Profile
Founders: Tamara Hachem and Yazid Erman
Based: Dubai
Launched: September 2019
Sector: health technology
Stage: seed
Investors: Oman Technology Fund, angel investor and grants from Sharjah's Sheraa and Ma'an Abu Dhabi
The specs
Engine: Direct injection 4-cylinder 1.4-litre
Power: 150hp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: From Dh139,000
On sale: Now
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
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MORE ON TURKEY'S SYRIA OFFENCE
Tuesday's fixtures
Kyrgyzstan v Qatar, 5.45pm
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
Fixtures
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COMPANY%20PROFILE%3A
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The biog
Simon Nadim has completed 7,000 dives.
The hardest dive in the UAE is the German U-boat 110m down off the Fujairah coast.
As a child, he loved the documentaries of Jacques Cousteau
He also led a team that discovered the long-lost portion of the Ines oil tanker.
If you are interested in diving, he runs the XR Hub Dive Centre in Fujairah
DMZ facts
- The DMZ was created as a buffer after the 1950-53 Korean War.
- It runs 248 kilometers across the Korean Peninsula and is 4km wide.
- The zone is jointly overseen by the US-led United Nations Command and North Korea.
- It is littered with an estimated 2 million mines, tank traps, razor wire fences and guard posts.
- Donald Trump and Kim Jong-Un met at a building in Panmunjom, where an armistice was signed to stop the Korean War.
- Panmunjom is 52km north of the Korean capital Seoul and 147km south of Pyongyang, North Korea’s capital.
- Former US president Bill Clinton visited Panmunjom in 1993, while Ronald Reagan visited the DMZ in 1983, George W. Bush in 2002 and Barack Obama visited a nearby military camp in 2012.
- Mr Trump planned to visit in November 2017, but heavy fog that prevented his helicopter from landing.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
'Operation Mincemeat'
Director: John Madden
Cast: Colin Firth, Matthew Macfayden, Kelly Macdonald and Penelope Wilton
Rating: 4/5
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
India cancels school-leaving examinations
Golden Shoe top five (as of March 1):
Harry Kane, Tottenham, Premier League, 24 goals, 48 points
Edinson Cavani, PSG, Ligue 1, 24 goals, 48 points
Ciro Immobile, Lazio, Serie A, 23 goals, 46 points
Mohamed Salah, Liverpool, Premier League, 23 goals, 46 points
Lionel Messi, Barcelona, La Liga, 22 goals, 44 points
