The Emirates Group has announced its half-year results which show a robust performance despite continued global economic pressure and high fuel prices.

Revenues at the group reached AED42.3 billion for the first six months of its current fiscal year ending September 30th 2013, up 13 per cent from the same period last year.

Net profit rose to AED2.2 billion, an increase of four per cent over the last year’s results.

“The global business environment continues to be challenging.

“We have stayed agile even as we grow, and this ability to adapt and act quickly has been key to our success.

“Our investments in the infrastructure of both Emirates and dnata continue to pay off and while we keep a close watch on managing our immediate business targets, we never lose sight of our long-term goals, and that is why we continue to invest to build the business,” said His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, chairman, Emirates Group. 

In the past six months, the group continued to invest in and expand its employee base, increasing its overall staff count by 11.7 per cent to over 75,800 compared with 31 March 2013.

During the first six months of the fiscal year Emirates received ten wide-body aircraft – six A380s, three 777s and one 777 freighter, with 15 more new aircraft scheduled to be delivered before the end of the financial year in March.

Emirates also invested in its network by launching services to two new destinations – Haneda and Stockholm, bringing the total count of new routes launched in the past 12 months to seven including Adelaide, Lyon, Phuket, Warsaw and Algiers. 

The group’s cash position on September 30th 2013 was at AED18.2 billion, compared to AED27 billion as at March 31st 2013.

This is after a AED1.8 billion bond repayment which matured in July 2013, a AED 367 million first instalment payment on a USD1 billion Sukuk, and a AED7 billion injection back into the business to fund new aircraft, engines, spares and other projects across the group.