SkyCargo shines bright for Emirates

Emirates SkyCargo was one of the star performers in the airline group’s performance in the 2014-15 financial year, contributing to an AED 5.5 billion (US$ 1.5 billion) profit, up 34 per cent from last year.
Emirates Group said on 7 May that it had achieved its 27th consecutive year of profit, despite challenges that included volatile currency markets – only partially offset by the fall in the oil price3 – the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, armed conflicts in several regions, and an 80-day runway closure at Dubai International airport (DXB).
For the financial year ending 31 Emirates Skycargo reported a revenue of AED 12.3 billion (US$ 3.4 billion), a 9 per cent increase over last year. The cargo division contributes 15 per cent of the airline’s total transport revenue “and continues to play an integral role in the company’s expanding operations,” said Emirates.
It added that tonnage “strongly increased by 6 per cent to reach 2.4 million tonnes in an airfreight market that remained challenging with fast-changing demand patterns,” its performance highlighting “its ability to grow revenues against the industry norm.” However, yield per freight tonne kilometre (FTKM) decreased by 1 per cent, and it was also affected by the weakening of major currencies.
On 1 May 2014, Emirates SkyCargo moved its freighter operations to its new high-tech cargo terminal at Dubai World Central’s Al Maktoum International airport, capable of handling 700,000 tonnes of cargo annually, and with the potential for further expansion to 1 million tonnes a year.
At the end of the financial year, the Emirates SkyCargo freighter fleet had grown to 14 aircraft – 12 Boeing 777Fs, and two Boeing 747-400Fs.
As well as five new passenger destinations – Abuja, Brussels, Budapest, Chicago, Oslo – Emirates Skycargo also launched four new additional freighter-only services, to Atlanta, Basel, Mexico City, and Ouagadougou.
Dnata, the Emirates Group’s handling arm, opened new cargo facilities in Australia, Iraq, Pakistan, Singapore, Switzerland, UAE, and UK. Revenue from  its UAE Airport Operations, including aircraft and cargo handling increased 5 per cent to AED 2.5 billion.