DUBAI (Bloomberg) - Emirates, the world's biggest airline by international traffic, said first-half profit more than quadrupled as passenger numbers and cargo handling rose.

Net income in the six months to September 30 increased to 3.4 billion dirhams ($925.7 million) from 752 million dirhams a year earlier, the Dubai state-owned carrier said today in a statement. Revenue rose 35 percent to 26.4 billion dirhams.

Emirates was ranked 24th by traffic among international airlines as recently as 2000, according to International Air Transport Association figures. That put it on a par with Sabena SA, the Belgian carrier that folded a year later. Emirates has increased traffic sixfold since then, overtaking Cologne, Germany-based Deutsche Lufthansa AG's main brand last year to become the biggest airline on international flights.

"We continue to invest our profits in growing the business, and our healthy financial position enables us to successfully meet all of our financial commitments," including funding plane orders, Emirates Chairman Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed al-Maktoum said in the statement.

First-half passenger numbers increased 17 percent to 15.5 million, Emirates said. The load factor, or proportion of seats filled, was 81 percent, the highest ever for a six-month reporting period, the company said, without giving a year-earlier figure.

Revenue from air cargo rose 48 percent to 4.4 billion dirhams, contributing about 18 percent of the airline's transport revenue, Emirates said.

Emirates operates 150 airliners and, with firm commitments for a further 203, will take delivery of two aircraft a month for the next six years. In mid-2010, the airline ordered 30 Boeing Co. 777-300ERs valued at $9.1 billion and 32 Airbus SAS A380s priced at $11 billion.

The airline needs more than $28 billion through 2017 for the fleet expansion, almost double the amount raised since 1996, Gary Chapman, head of Emirates' finances and services, said on September 1.

The 90 A380s it's planning to operate "won't be enough" to meet demand, Emirates president Tim Clark said on September 9.