Emirates airlines swings to H1 $1.09 billion profit on travel recovery

DUBAI (Reuters) - Dubai state-owned airline Emirates swung to a record profit of 4 billion dirhams ($1.09 billion) in the first-half of its 2022/2023 financial year, buoyed by strong demand and the easing and removal of pandemic restrictions across the world.

The flag carrier reported a loss of 5.8 billion dirhams the year earlier. Revenues for six months to Sept. 30 jumped 131% to 50.1 billion dirhams, Emirates Group, which includes the airline and other units, said in a statement on Thursday.

"The airline’s strong turnaround performance is driven by strong passenger demand for international travel across markets."

The Group said its employee headcount increased by 10% to 93,893 staff as both the airline and the group's airport services subsidiary dnata, "have embarked on targeted recruitment drives to support their future requirements".

The services unit recorded an overall profit of 236 million dirhams, up from 85 million dirhams a year ago.

($1 = 3.6727 UAE dirham)

(Reporting by Hadeel Al Sayegh; Editing by Tomasz Janowski)