The Emirates Group announced a record half-year financial performance on November 06, 2025, posting a profit before tax of AED12.2 billion ($ 3.3 billion) for the first six months of 2025-26, marking the fourth consecutive year of record profitability for the half-year reporting period.
The Group’s profit before tax increased by 17 per cent from the same period last year, whilst profit after tax reached AED10.6 billion ($2.9 billion), up 13 per cent from last year.
Group revenue rose 4 per cent to AED75.4 billion ($20.6 billion) from AED70.8 billion ($19.3 billion) last year.
Emirates maintains position as world’s most profitable airline
Emirates airline achieved a record half-year profit before tax of AED11.4 billion ($3.1 billion), up 17 per cent, cementing its position as the world’s most profitable airline for the half-year reporting period. The airline’s revenue increased by 6 per cent to AED65.6 billion ($17.9 billion) against the same period last year.
“The Group has once again delivered an outstanding performance, surpassing our half-year results of last year to achieve a new record profit for H1 2025-26. I’m delighted to note that Emirates maintains its position as the world’s most profitable airline for this half-year reporting period,” Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive, Emirates Airline and Group said in a statement.
“This performance was primarily driven by the unflagging demand and growing customer preference for our product and services, which drove revenue growth and profitability. Emirates and dnata have invested billions to continually enhance our products and services, to bring new products to market, to improve our operations through innovation and technology, and to look after our employees who ensure our customers’ safety and satisfaction. These are core to our DNA,” Sheikh Ahmed added.
“The Group’s strong profitability enables us to continue making these investments, and to scale up our proven business models in concert with Dubai’s growth as a global city of choice for talent, for businesses, and for tourists,” he explained.
Emirates Group posts record half-year profit of AED12.2 billion in 2025-26
The Group closed the first half year of 2025-26 with a record cash position of AED56.0 billion ($15.2 billion) on 30 September 2025, compared to AED53.4 billion ($14.6 billion) on March 31, 2025.
The Group has tapped its own cash reserves to support business needs, including funding for new aircraft deliveries and servicing existing debt obligations.
The Group also paid the remaining AED2 billion ($545 million) in dividend to its owner, of the AED6 billion ($1.6 billion) declared during the financial year 2024-25.
The Group maintained a robust EBITDA of AED1.1 billion ($5.7 billion), 3 per cent higher than the AED20.4 billion ($5.6 billion) reported for the same period last year.
Network expansion and fleet growth
During the first half of 2025-26, Emirates launched new flight services to Danang, Siem Reap, Shenzhen and Hangzhou. At 30 September, Emirates’ passenger and cargo network spanned 153 airports in 81 countries and territories.
The airline deployed 28 additional weekly scheduled flights to Antananarivo, Johannesburg, Muscat, Rome, Riyadh and Taipei. Emirates entered agreements with three codeshare and interline partners: Air Seychelles, Condor and Aurigny.
Between September 1 April and 30, Emirates received delivery of five new A350 aircraft, adding more Business Class and Premium Economy seats into the airline’s inventory. During this period, 23 aircraft (six A380s, 17 Boeing 777s) with refreshed interiors rolled out of the airline’s US$ 5 billion retrofit programme.
By September 30, Emirates Premium Economy was available to customers flying between Dubai and 61 cities.
Passenger and cargo operations
Emirates carried 27.8 million passengers between 1 April and 30 September 2025, up 4 per cent from the same period last year. Capacity measured in Available Seat Kilometres increased by 5 per cent, whilst passenger traffic carried measured in Revenue Passenger Kilometres was up by 4 per cent with a Passenger Seat Factor of 79.5 per cent, compared with 80.0 per cent during the same period last year.
Emirates SkyCargo transported 1.25 million tonnes in the first six months of the year, up by 4 per cent compared to the same period last year. However, cargo yields decreased by 6 per cent due to softening demand in some market segments amidst tariff concerns.
The cargo division added capacity from three new Boeing 777 freighters delivered. In April, the cargo division launched Emirates Courier Express, a product that leverages the airline’s network to provide door-to-door express shipping services for businesses.
Emirates operating costs and investments
Emirates’ operating costs (including fuel) grew by 4 per cent in line with increased operations. Fuel remains the largest component of the airline’s operating cost at 30 per cent. The airline’s EBITDA of AED19.7 billion ($5.4 billion) remained at levels up 3 per cent compared to AED19.1 billion ($5.2 billion) for the same period last year.
Emirates Flight Catering grew revenue from external customers by 13 per cent to AED 555 million (US$ 151 million), uplifting 7.7 million meals (up by 2 per cent) for 116 airlines during the period.
Emirates Leisure Retail acquired the remaining 25 per cent stake in Air Ventures LLC in the US, securing full ownership of the entity, which operates airport retail and F&B outlets.
Emirates first and retail expansion
“Emirates First” opened at Dubai Airport, offering First Class customers and Platinum Skywards members a private check-in area and experience. In the first six months of 2025-26, Emirates accelerated the roll-out of its retail strategy with the opening of new concept travel stores in Accra, Bangkok, Geneva, Jakarta, Mauritius, Osaka, Seoul and Singapore.
Emirates continued to progress on its environmental initiatives, uplifting sustainable aviation fuel where available and feasible, including at 37 airports.
In April, Emirates joined the Aviation Circularity Consortium, a network of organisations committed to building a circular economy for aviation and creating new pathways to accelerate decarbonisation through high-value circularity in the global supply chain.
In the first half of 2025-26, Emirates made investments to boost its brand visibility. The airline signed multi-year sponsorship deals to become Platinum Partner of FC Bayern München, Official Main Sponsor of Real Madrid Basketball, and Premium Partner and Official Airline Partner of the Investec Champions Cup and European Professional Club Rugby Challenge Cup. Emirates also extended its partnership with ATP as Premier Partner and Official Airline of the ATP Tour up to 2030, and its shirt sponsorship with Olympique Lyonnais until 2030.
dnata achieves record half-year revenue of AED11.7 billion with 13% growth
dnata achieved a profit before tax of AED843 million ($230 million), up 17 per cent compared to the same period last year, against a record half-year revenue of AED11.7 billion ($3.2 billion), up 13 per cent. dnata’s profit after tax reached AED697 million ($190 million), up 22 per cent from last year.
dnata’s EBITDA was AED1.4 billion ($372 million), up 5 per cent from last year’s AED1.3 billion (US$ 354 million).
dnata’s airport services and catering and retail divisions won several contracts and grew existing customers across its international operations.
The company announced plans to deploy 800 new ground support equipment units across its network in 2025, an investment valued at $ 110 million to enhance operational performance and secure a supply of lower-emission equipment to support dnata’s growth and sustainability targets.
dnata’s airport operations contributed AED5.5 billion ($1.5 billion) to revenue, a 15 per cent increase compared to the same period last year, as airline customers’ operations continued to pick up in Italy, Australia, the UK and the UAE.
The number of aircraft turns handled by dnata increased by 15 per cent to 450,903, bolstered by its operations at Rome Fiumicino Airport, and it recorded 1.59 million tonnes of cargo handled, up by 3 per cent due to cargo handling driven by its UAE operations.
dnata’s flight catering and retail operations contributed AED4.1 billion ($1.1 billion) to its revenue, up 11 per cent as its retail product grew as part of the division’s strategy, catering production increases in Australia and the UK to meet customer demand, and the impact of revised contracts to reflect rising supply costs. The number of meals uplifted decreased by 1 per cent to 60.0 million meals compared to last year.
dnata’s travel division contributed AED 2.0 billion ($538 million) to revenue, up 11 per cent compared to AED1.8 billion ($483 million) for the same period last year.
The division reported a total transactional value of AED5.0 billion ($1.4 billion), compared to AED4.5 billion ($1.2 billion), up 9 per cent compared to the same period last year.
dnata strategic investments and partnerships
In the first half of 2025-26, dnata launched its airport hospitality brand, marhaba, in the United Kingdom. The company made a €3 million minority stake investment in WonderMiles, an NDC-enabled booking platform to strengthen dnata Travel’s corporate business offering, and disposed of its 75 per cent stake in Super Bus, which operates sightseeing tours in the UAE.
dnata also entered its first sports sponsorship partnership, signing a three-year agreement with Dubai Basketball to become a Founding Partner of the city’s first professional basketball franchise.
To support increased operations and business activities, the Emirates Group’s employee base grew 3 per cent to a count of 124,927 on 30 September 2025, compared to March 31, 2025. Both Emirates and dnata have recruitment drives to support their future requirements.
“Global demand for air transport and travel services has been buoyant, despite geo-political events and economic concerns in some markets. We expect this demand resilience to continue for the rest of 2025-26 and look forward to increasing our capacity to grow revenues as new A350 aircraft join the Emirates fleet, and new facilities come online at dnata,” Sheikh Ahmed added.
