Emirates Airline and air travel services firm Dnata now officially belong to Government owned Investment Corporation of Dubai (ICD), reported Reuters. Spokesmen for the airline confirmed the transfer of ownership of the Emirates Group and commented that changes in management and employment contracts are not planned.
Emirates Airline produced a net profit of Dh 284 million (US $77 million), for the first six months of its current financial year ending 30th September 2008. This is down 88 per cent compared to Dh 2.36 billion ($643 million) net profits for the same period in 2007, showing the impact of the record fuel prices earlier this year.
In recent weeks, suggestions have emerged that Etihad Airways and Emirates Airline could be considering tighter forms of co-operation or even a merger. While the both companies firmly denied such possibilities, last year Etihad stated that it was examining the potential for cooperation with Emirates, to take advantage of combined purchasing power, although this was limited to non-competitive areas.
In February 2008, citing the Dow Jones Newswires, Zawya said that the airline plans to go public as early as next year. Emirates’ president Tim Clark was quoted saying that the airline could be estimated at up to $30 billion, but is considering selling 25%-30% of its stock.
The recent move to transfer the ownership of Emirates Airline from one government entity to another indicates that some changes are planned for the near future, but doesn’t specify if the company is planning a merger with another UAE carrier or preparing to launch IPO.
By Gergana Mineva at Editor@DubaiChronicle.com
