The carrier made a net profit of $1.5 billion, Emirates said in a statement.

Net profit for the wider Emirates Group rose 42.9 percent to $1.6 billion in 2010. Revenue for the airline in 2010 was $14.8 billion, an increase of 25 percent.

Emirates, which was forced to scale back flights this year in the wake of unrest in North Africa and Bahrain, said it does not need to raise money through an initial public offering (IPO) this year or in 2012.

It had also dropped plans for a bond to finance expansion after the upheaval made rates more expensive.

Emirates Chairman Sheikh Ahmed said the airline was optimistic for 2011 despite political unrest and higher oil prices, adding it will wait for pricing to improve before issuing a bond.

The airline, a major customer to Airbus and Boeing, took delivery of eight aircraft in 2010, it said in the statement.

Emirates, which boosted its A380 orders to 90 planes in June, is only constrained by a shortage of space to park the world’s largest aircraft, its president Tim Clark said in a challenge to older, recession-hit carriers.

The airline said it carried 31.4 million passengers in 2010 and its passenger load factor stood at 80 percent for the period.

It currently operates 153 aircraft to 111 destinations in 66 countries.