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Emirates SkyCargo has beaten the challenges of one of the toughest years ever for the global airline industry to achieve
revenues of over one billion dirhams for the second year running.
HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman of the Emirates Group, last
week announced the financial results for the year April 1 2001 to March 31
2002, a year of severe difficulty for the global airline industry.
In a year in which markets slowed down and yields fell, Emirates SkyCargo
achieved total revenues of Dh1,147 million (US$312.2 million). This includes
Dh1,059 million (US$288.3 million) for cargo, Dh69 million (US$18.8 million)
for express shipments, and Dh19 million (US$5.1 million) for mail. They show
an 8.7 per cent increase over the previous financial year.
Total tonnage carried reached 400,569 tonnes, an increase of 19.5 per cent
over the previous year.
Emirates SkyCargo made a contribution to the airline's operating revenue of
17.4 per cent, slightly higher than last year's 17.3 per cent. The average
for comparable airlines is 11 per cent.
Ram Menen, Emirates' Director Cargo, said: "This has been one of the
toughest years since the airline's start-up in 1985. For air cargo, the
recession in Asia and Europe, created by the slowdown in the USA, had a
severe effect on loads from January to October 2001. We also faced the
challenge of cargo yields. This was partly due to a steep drop in rates
because of supply being higher than demand and partly due to the market mix
of cargo carried which was more Middle East traffic rather than longer haul,
trans-continental shipments."
He went on: "Against that background, these results are a tribute to the
resourcefulness of our cargo staff across the network and the resilience of
our valued cargo customers."
For the current 2002/2003 financial year, Emirates SkyCargo is forecasting
significant growth of 21 per cent in revenue terms and 24 per cent in
volume.
Emirates has earned a place as a global cargo carrier by focussing, from the
start of operations, on personal service, innovation and just-in-time
delivery. Emirates SkyCargo confirmed its place as a market leader with the
launch of SkyChain, a state-of-the-art, web-based logistics management
system. The division combines the capability of the airline's passenger
fleet to achieve fast and frequent deliveries with the operation of a Boeing
747-400F on high density routes. Through interline agreements and trucking
systems in Europe and Australia, delivery anywhere in the world is
guaranteed. |
