The Emirates Group yesterday announced its 28th consecutive year of profit and steady business expansion, ending the year with record profits despite the global and operational challenges.

During the 2015-16 financial year, both Emirates and dnata achieved new capacity and profit milestones, as the Group continued to expand its global footprint, and strengthen its business through strategic investments.

The Emirates Group posted an AED 8.2 billion (US$ 2.2 billion) profit for the financial year ending 31 March 2016, up 50% from last year.

The Group’s revenue reached AED 93 billion (US$ 25.3 billion), a decrease of 3% over last year’s results, and the Group’s cash balance increased strongly to AED 23.5 billion (US$ 6.4 billion).

The Group’s employee base across its more than 80 subsidiaries and companies increased by 13% to over 95,000-strong representing over 160 different nationalities.

In line with the overall profit, the Group declared a dividend of AED 2.5 billion (US$ 681 million) to the Investment Corporation of Dubai.

Emirates performance

Emirates’ total passenger and cargo capacity crossed the 56 billion mark, to 56.4 billion ATKMs at the end of 2015-16, cementing its position as the world’s largest international airline. The airline increased capacity during the year by 5.5 billion Available Tonne Kilometres (ATKMs), or 11% over 2014-15.

Emirates received 29 new aircraft, its highest number during a financial year, including 16 A380s, 12 Boeing 777-300ERs and one Boeing 777F, bringing its total fleet count to 251 at the end of March.

Emirates launched eight new passenger destinations: Bali, Bologna, Cebu, Clark, Istanbul (Sabiha Gökçen), Mashhad, Multan, Orlando; and two new additional freighter destinations: Columbus and Ciudad del Este.

It also added services and capacity to 34 cities on its existing route network across Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and North America, offering customers even greater choice and connectivity.