Corporation of Dubai, owners of Emirates Airlines, posts $5.1bn loss amid pandemic

*The Investment Corporation of Dubai owns Emirates Airlines, which has seen bookings slump as demand for travels plummeted during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis

Gbenga Kayode | ConsumerConnect

As a fallout of the damaging impacts of the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on its fortune, the Investment Corporation of Dubai (ICD), the main state-controlled holding firm of the Emirate, has reported its first loss in at least eight years as the virus weighed on earnings at its portfolio companies.

The firm, in a statement, recorded and posted a loss of 18.9billion Dirhams ($5.1 billion) after a profit of 18 billion Dirhams a year earlier.

Emirates Airlines Hub in Dubai

The trading deficit was the firm’s first loss since 2012, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Investment Corporation of Dubai owns Emirates Airlines, which has seen bookings slump as demand for travels plummeted in recent times.

It was gathered that the Corporation also has holdings in banks, including Emirates NBD and Dubai Islamic Bank, as well as Emaar Properties.

Emirates Group, owner of the world’s largest long-haul airline prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, recently reported $6 billion in loss, which is its first loss in three decades, report stated.

ConsumerConnect reports the ICD 2020 post highlights its revenue as 136 billion dirhams vs. 228 billion, while the net impairment losses on the Corporation’s financial assets were estimated at 8.5 billion Dirhams vs. 5 billion in the previous year.

The Investment Corporation of Dubai is a sovereign wealth fund of the Government of Dubai established in 2006, with a mandate to manage the Government of Dubai’s portfolio of commercial companies and investments.

As of the end of 2019, ICD reported assets were worth US$305 billion and revenue of $62 billion.

It is also recalled that Emirates Airlines Monday, June 21 postponed the resumption of flights between the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Nigeria indefinitely, citing government’s directives for the sudden development.

Earlier, sequel to the six-month restriction of flights from Nigeria into the UAE, the Supreme Committee of Crisis and Disaster Management, in Dubai, had planned to announce a new entry protocols for passengers from Nigeria, India and South Africa Wednesday, June 23, 2021.

The Committee made the disclosure via a statement by the Dubai Media Office, headed by Sheik Monsoor biin Mohammed bin Rashid El Maktoum.

The protocols, among others, stipulated that passengers must have received a negative test result for a PCR test taken within 48 hours before departure, but UAE citizens are exempted.

Likewise, passengers must present a negative PCR test certificate with a OR code from laboratory approved by the Nigerian Government.

Also, all passengers must undergo a PCR test on arrival at the Dubai Airport.

However, in a notice the airline sent Monday to air travellers who had booked its flights, Emirates said it was suspending passenger flights to and from Abuja and Lagos indefinitely.

It was gathered the airline blamed government’s directives for its volte-face in this regard.

The airline in the notice posted on its Web site said: “Customers travelling to and from Lagos and Abuja will not be accepted for travel.

“Customers who have been to or connected through Nigeria in the last 14 days are not permitted to board from any other point to the UAE.”

It further stated: “We regret the inconvenience caused, and affected customers should contact their booking agent or Emirates call centre for rebooking.

“Emirates remains committed to Nigeria, and we look forward to resuming passenger services when conditions allow.”