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Khaleej Times
20-05-2025
- Business
- Khaleej Times
Emirates airline aims to create jobs, build wealth for Dubai, says top official
Dubai-based Emirates' objective is to build an airline and make money, create jobs, and wealth for the city, said Boutros Boutros, executive vice president, corporate communications, marketing and brand at Emirates Group. While speaking during the TRIBE – The CMO Connect 2025 event hosted by Khaleej Times, Boutros said Dubai's flagship carrier is run like a private entity, rather than a government firm. "We don't have a board of directors and shareholders who come every three months, and we have to produce enough figures to keep our jobs. This is a strength for us. This is a strength because our motive is not only to make money. We have to be profitable, but more than profitable, to build an airline; it is to create jobs and wealth for the city. Stay up to date with the latest news. Follow KT on WhatsApp Channels. "This mentality doesn't exist in many other companies, because we are a unique company in terms of ownership. It's run like a private company, not run as a government," Boutros said during a fireside chat on "Marketing Beyond Borders: How a Homegrown Brand Became Truly Global." He stressed that Emirates' success should be attributed to teamwork and the environment it provides to its employees. "Emirates is a unique airline for a unique city. You cannot say it's a Dubai company. It's a global company. We cater for everybody." Key highlights of TRIBE – The CMO Connect 2025 were the exclusive announcement of the GCC's Most Influential Marketing Leaders, recognising excellence, innovation, and leadership in the field. The summit also featured a networking lunch, providing opportunities for attendees to foster strategic partnerships and engage with top marketing visionaries. Loan repaid Last week, Emirates said its 2024-25 revenues increased by 6 per cent to Dh127.9 billion ($34.9 billion). The world's largest international carrier hit a new record profit after tax of Dh19.1 billion, outstripping last year's Dh17.2 billion ($4.7 billion). This is the best performance in the airline's history, and in the airline industry for the reporting year 2024-25. "We have been the most profitable airline for the last three years. After the pandemic, we repaid the loans to the government. We were running a tight, good operation (during Covid-19). To be honest, this would not have happened if we were in another country. A lot of people ask why the Emirates is so successful. It is because we are in Dubai. Of course, this is one of the major reasons, and a huge part of Dubai's and the UAE's growth story," said Boutros. Dubai's flagship carrier obtained billions of dollars in loans from the government due to the coronavirus pandemic as the aviation industry came to a halt due to the pandemic. Going from good to better An industry veteran, Boutros relocated from the UK in 1991 to join Emirates. 'We had just seven aircraft and 11 destinations. It was a small airline; nobody took us seriously. I was fortunate enough to have the courage to move from the UK to join the Emirates. I came to Dubai for the first time in 1989, and I could see this place only going from good to better. I strongly believed in Emirates and the vision of Dubai,' he said during a fireside chat with Michal Divon, chief client officer, Khaleej Times. He added that Emirates' strategy is parallel to Dubai's strategy. 'From day one, Emirates management knew that they needed to provide the experience. We, as an airline, carry people from place A to B. But then every other end line does the same. But we are different and that's why we are successful.' Citing an example, he said in 1992, Emirates was the first airline in the world to introduce in-flight entertainment. Smart spending Butrous dismissed the general impression that Emirates spends a huge amount of money on marketing. Instead, he stressed that the airline spends much less than the market rate on marketing, 'In reality, our spending is less than 3 per cent of our total revenue. In our industry, you need to spend between 3 to 7 per cent of your total revenue on marketing. Sometimes I'm challenged internally by our financial department, that I take 3 per cent. This year, my budget is 2.4 per cent. So you have to be smart about how to spend it. Because if you are doing something right, people think we have so much money to spend. In reality, we spend much less. But it seems it's working,' said the executive vice president of corporate communications, marketing and brand at Emirates Group. Contrary to current times when sports and other companies willingly embrace big brands on their shirts, he noted that it was quite a challenge for people to convince to embrace aviation brands on the players' shirts.
Gulf News
30-04-2025
- Business
- Gulf News
Emirates is 'very satisfied' with cash reserve; IPO a matter for government says Sheikh Ahmed
Dubai: Emirates Chairman and Chief Executive Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum is "very satisfied" with its cash reserve and expects record-breaking results for the 2024-25 financial year. The airline is expected to announce its full-year financial results early next month. "You will see in the upcoming financial announcement that we are very satisfied with our cash reserve on the airline side," said Sheikh Ahmed in response to a question about a potential Emirates IPO. However, he said, "But if the government asks me to 'do it tomorrow,' I have to do it. This is how I take it. It's not my choice." Emirates reported a record profit of Dh17.2 billion, up 63 per cent from Dh10.6 billion in the 2023-24 results. Demand dip to the US Commenting on travel flows to the US and China amid the ongoing trade war, Sheikh Ahmed reported that Emirates is performing "very well" with substantial traffic and seat factors across its network. "Traffic, seat factors on every point on the whole network is good…I can assure you that the guys in commercial planning do their job right by putting together an excellent product." He specifically stated that he had not seen any decline in the number of people travelling to the US despite potential discussions around visa issues. "I would say that people want to fly, and that's also one reason. But coming very specifically to you, I didn't see any shift in terms of a decline in the number of people travelling to the US. Maybe people will say, 'Yeah, it could be because of a visa issue,' but saying that... But we, I didn't see a decline," said the Chairman. Regarding the impact of potential tariffs on the horizon, he said, "It's a bit early for me to prejudge as we speak today," but added that the airline remains "very vigilant" about issues that could increase costs for the business. He confirmed seeing shifts in cargo movements, noting that some companies are proactively altering shipping locations. Commenting on the impact of ongoing regional tensions and global issues on route planning, Sheikh Ahmed said airlines are "very well used to quick reaction" as situations can change instantly. He noted that the world "will never be free from issues" and airlines "will always need to be alert all the time." Will Emirates take Boeing planes? Reports suggest that while many regional and international carriers consider making a play for Boeing aircraft initially intended for Chinese buyers, Sheikh Ahmed offered a cautious perspective. He stated flatly, "It is not as simple as that." Sheikh Ahmed elaborated on the complexities, noting the ongoing market conditions with only two major manufacturers, "Airbus and Boeing," who have experienced "a lot of delays." He highlighted that these aircraft are configured to "whatever airline's setup – seats, looks, configuration, you name it." Integrating such planes into Emirates' operations would require stripping and retrofitting them to the airline's specific "Emirates standard," which he indicated "may be a bit expensive to deal with." For Emirates, he stated that adding an aircraft isn't just about filling seats; it "cannot expect that I just put an aircraft just to put people on board without really fitting into my system and the National carrier standard."
The National
14-02-2025
- Business
- The National
AD Ports Q4 profit surges five-fold as acquisitions boost revenue
AD Ports Group, the operator of industrial cities and free zones in Abu Dhabi, reported a five-fold jump in its fourth quarter net profit as revenue surged on the back of acquisitions in the UAE and abroad. Net profit attributable to owners of the company for the three months to the end of December 2024 climbed to Dh383 million ($104.2 million), from Dh74 million reported during the same period a year earlier, the company said on Friday in a statement to the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange where its shares are traded. Revenue during the September-December period rose 28 per cent on an annual basis to Dh4.5 billion. The group's full-year profit rose 24 per cent year-on-year to Dh1.3 billion, as revenue grew 48 per cent to Dh17.2 billion. Last year 'marked another year of record revenue and earnings with the group delivering on its primary mission to enable trade,' said Capt Mohamed Al Shamsi, managing director and group chief executive of AD Ports. 'Not only did we deploy an agile, effective business strategy that translated geopolitical uncertainty in some regions into record revenue and profit, but we also leveraged the integration of our recent acquisitions to attain a new level of efficiency, international significance, and to maximise the financial synergies from the consolidation of the acquired entities.' AD Ports completed several new deals last year including acquiring 100 per cent of APM Terminals Castellon in Spain, as well as buying a 60 per cent stake in Dubai Technologies – a trade and transportation solutions developer based in Dubai. It also acquired 60 per cent stake in Tbilisi Dry Port, a key logistics terminal in Georgia, and secured 81 per cent ownership in the joint venture that signed a 20-year concession to operate and upgrade the existing Luanda Multipurpose Port Terminal in Angola. The Abu Dhabi company also completed the restructuring and integration of Spanish logistics platform Noatum Group's assets into AD Ports Group's existing business verticals to boost its portfolio. Established in 2006, AD Ports' portfolio includes 33 terminals, with a presence in more than 50 countries, and economic zones spanning more than 550 square kilometres. The company said all the major global shipping lines continue to avoid the Red Sea, despite a ceasefire deal in Gaza. 'Given recent developments on the subject, a resumption of the conflict, and thus of attacks in the Red Sea, is a possible scenario that cannot be excluded. Global shipping companies are still not ready to return to the Red Sea trade route because of this uncertainty and fear that Yemen's Houthis could intensify again their attacks,' it said. The imposition of new tariffs by the US is likely to create further trade tension and supply chain disruption globally, leading to changes in trade patterns and flows, with long-term implications to trade corridors, AD Ports said. 'It is likely that China builds up its links with the Global South and that trade among Global South nations accelerates in retaliation to the US tariffs. In other words, it could create opportunities for AD Ports Group, which has been increasing its exposure to Global South nations,' it added. This month, US announced a 10 per cent duty on all goods imported from China into the US. It also ordered a 25 per cent import tax on all steel and aluminium entering the US, set to take effect on March 12.
