The Emirates Group on Thursday declared a 65 per cent jump in net profit for the first half of its 2015-16 financial year but revenues declined by 2.3 per cent on strong dollar again major currencies.

The group's revenue reached Dh46.1 billion during April to September 2015 period and net profit rose to Dh3.7 billion compared to Dh47.2 billion revenues and Dh2.2 billion net during the same period last year.

The group's cash position on 30th September 2015 was at Dh14.8 billion, compared to Dh20 billion as at March 31 2015. This is due to ongoing investments mainly into new aircraft, airline related infrastructure projects, and business acquisitions.

Shaikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, chairman and chief executive, Emirates airline and Group, said: "The group is reporting one of its most profitable first half-year performances ever, speaks to the strength of our underlying business. In first six months of this year, Emirates and dnata grew in terms of capacity, capability and global reach - organically, and for dnata through strategic acquisitions as well."

"Looking ahead, we will continue to build on our core strengths by investing in new ways to improve efficiencies and deliver the best customer outcomes. At the same time, we will keep an eye out for strategic growth opportunities, and stay agile so that we can respond effectively to external challenges," Shaikh Ahmed said.

Dnata

The Emirates Group's dnata continued to grow its international business footprint, investing in infrastructure and operations, which now span 74 countries. In the first half of 2015-16, dnata's international operations accounted for over 67 per cent of its total revenue.

Its revenue, including other operating income, is Dh5.2 billion, a strong 27 per cent increase compared to Dh4.1 billion last year. Overall profit for dnata increased by 64 per cent to Dh557 million. This outstanding performance was underpinned by the first full year contribution of dnata's major acquisitions Stella Group, and Toll dnata. Also, on a comparable basis, last year's performance had suffered significantly due to the one off runway closure at Dubai International Airport. Dnata's airport operations remained the largest contributor to revenue with Dh2.4 billion, a 21 per cent increase compared to the same period last year. This reflects the internal alignment of dnata's airport services and cargo handling divisions, its growing international operations with the acquisitions in Australia and Europe, and as mentioned earlier, a rebound from the impact of the runway closure at Dubai International airport during the same period last year.

Across its operations, the number of aircraft handled by dnata increased by 21 per cent to 169,951, and it handled 917,065 tonnes of cargo, and increase of 10 per cent over last year. Boosted by its major international acquisitions in the past 18 months, revenue from dnata's Travel Services operation contributed Dh1.7 billion, up 90 per cent from the same period last year. The travel division expanded its international offering with the acquisition of Stella Group, which contributed to a substantial increase in the division's underlying net sales of 62 per cent to Dh6.2 billion.

Dnata's flight catering operation, contributed Dh0.9 billion to its total revenue, down 8 per cent. The number of meals uplifted was at 32.7 million meals for the first half of the financial year, up 4 per cent compared to last year's figure of 31.4 million.