Portugal Colonial - Emirates airline group announces record $6.2 bn gross profit

The 18 percent rise in profit, based on strong customer demand, slimmed to $5.6 billion after the UAE's recently introduced corporate tax, which was applied for a full financial year for the first time.

"The Emirates Group has raised the bar to set new records for profit, revenue and cash assets," chairman Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum said in a statement.

Emirates airline, excluding the group's other businesses, posted a record $5.8 billion pre-tax profit, up 20 percent from the year before.

The group invested $3.8 billion in new aircraft, infrastructure and technology "to support its growth plans", the statement said.

Its workforce grew by 9 percent to an unprecedented 121,223 employees.

State-owned Emirates Group operates the world's largest long-haul carrier.

As of March, it had 314 aircraft pending delivery, including 61 A350s and 205 Boeing 777x, the statement said.

It said it was retrofitting 219 aircraft at a cost of $5 billion to make up for delayed Boeing orders.

M.Gameiro--PC