The Emirates Group saw a 248% rise in profit in the last fiscal year.
The 2009-10 Annual Report, for the financial year ended March 31, showed the Emirates airline alone made $964m in profit.
Lower passenger yields (minus 16.9% overall) were offset by increased traffic.
The airline flew 27.5 million passengers between March 2009 and 2010, 4.7 million more than in the previous year.
Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, CEO of Emirates Airlines and Group, said: "This increase in passenger numbers is attributable not only to our position at the centre of the new silk road between east and west, but also to our commitment in increasing our network and service standards, during a time where many competitors were doing the opposite.
"Emirates is incredibly proud of the fact that we are unsubsidized and wholly unprotected from foreign competition in our home market, thanks to Dubai's progressive open skies policy. We continue to grow, not through protectionism but through competition... We have no intention of pulling back the reigns on our expansion plans to suit the needs of our competition."
In 2009-10 Emirates expanded its passenger fleet with 15 new aircraft, including four A380s, increasing the airline's total seat capacity by 20%. The airline has also announced it will start flights to Baghdad in Iraq from July. 1
Travel services provider Dnata and Emirates SkyCargo, also part of the Emirates Group, saw positive balance sheets, although Destination and Leisure Management, which includes Emirates Hotels & Resorts, saw a more challenging year.
Dnata acquired two UK companies last year, which provide airport handling services at Heathrow and Manchester.
www.theemiratesgroup.com