Emirates reports profit of £1.34bn

Emirates Airline reported a 56% jump in 2015-16 profits on Tuesday, reaching AED 7.1bn (£1.34bn) as the global carrier’s fuel bills shrunk by almost a third.

The Dubai state-owned firm’s revenues were down 4%, however, to AED 85bn, with the airline blaming the US dollar’s relative strength in the year to 31 March as having a AED 6bn impact on turnover for the year.

“Two events impacted our financial performance: the strong US dollar and oil. The drop in oil prices was a relief on cost, however it is still the biggest cost,” said Emirates chairman Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum.

Lower oil prices helped to take fuel to 25% of operating costs, against 35% in the previous period, reducing operating costs by 8%.

The airline also carried 8% more passengers during the year, achieving and exceeding the 50 million passenger mark for the first time to end the year at 51.9 million passengers.