Singapore Airlines 1st half results surge as world reopens

Lee Kah Whye Singapore, November 7 (ANI): Last week, Singapore Airlines, the city-state’s national carrier, posted a record first-half operating profit of S$1.23 billion (S$876 million) for the period to September. million USD). It also marked his highest ever quarterly profit of S$678 million, almost 15 years ago his highest of S$674.6 million achieved in the third quarter of 2007-08. surpassed

The same period last year suffered a loss of S$602 million in the first half and a loss of S$345 million in the second quarter of the financial reporting period beginning in April.

Net profit for the first half was S$927 million (US$660 million), compared with a net loss of S$837 million for the same period for the 2021-22 financial year. Quarantine was required for most travelers.

In mid-October, Singapore Airlines, which owns a 49% stake in Indian airline Vistara, said in a press statement that it was in private discussions with partner Tata to explore the possibility of deepening the relationship between the two companies. Did.

Demand for air travel increased after Singapore fully reopened to vaccinated travelers in April 2022 and border restrictions were eased in many major travel markets. This, combined with the inability of most Asian airlines to meet the growing demand for travel, has caused capacity shortages and led to skyrocketing ticket prices that benefited Singapore Airlines.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many of our local competitors have had to seek protection from courts, sell aircraft, or permanently post staff to avoid lawsuits from creditors. did not. As a result, we were unable to respond as quickly as SIA could when borders reopened.

Singapore Airlines cited “aggressive funding, talent acquisition and resource deployment” as reasons for its swift response to the reopening, which puts it in a “strong position to capture pent-up demand”. is ready. Many stakeholders have told us that Singapore Airlines and Scoot will start flights from Singapore as the government takes decisive action to reopen the border to international travel, starting with the opening of the country’s vaccinated travel lanes. One of the first airlines to start selling to points offered. As a result, his SIA, a full-service carrier, and Scoot, a low-cost carrier, carried 11.4 million passengers in the six months to 30 September 2022, a 13-fold increase from the previous year. . Passenger numbers and load factors were strong across all cabin classes and route regions over the six-month period, with the exception of East Asia, where most border restrictions remained.

Passenger numbers on Singapore Airlines’ two airlines increased to an average of 68% of pre-pandemic levels in the second quarter of 2022-23.

First half revenue increased by S$5,226 million, or 694.0%, year-on-year to S$5,979 million. Traffic increased 11x, significantly exceeding the 118.7% capacity expansion. As a result, the load factor increased by 66.8 points to 83.0%.

Cargo capacity fell by 5.6%, while freight revenue increased S$224 million (11.9%) to S$2,099 million, supported by higher yields (18.6%). $1 million (US$3,982 million) or 197.7% to reach SGD8,416 million (US$5,996 million).

Expenditure increased by S$3,735 million (108.4%) year-on-year to S$7,182 million (US$5,117 million) and net fuel costs increased by S$1,886 million (232.8%). , non-fuel spending was S$1.77 billion (65.2 per cent).

The Group recorded an operating cash surplus of S$2.51 billion in the first half. This represents an improvement of S$2.62 billion year-on-year. As a result, not only was he able to declare a dividend of 10 cents per share for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic hit the aviation industry, but the company issued his S$3.496 billion convertible bond. issued the first tranche of Shareholders expect to raise funds in June 2020.

As of 30 September 2022, the full service carrier SIA’s fleet consisted of 131 passenger and 7 cargo aircraft, while the LCC Scoot had 55 passenger aircraft.

The Group’s passenger network covers 100 destinations in 36 countries and territories, with SIA serving 74 destinations and Scoot 48. The cargo network consisted of 107 destinations.

East Asian countries are expected to gradually ease travel restrictions and in anticipation of year-end travel demand, Singapore Airlines plans to increase flights to various destinations in Japan, China and Indonesia in the coming months. increase.

Recruitment of flight attendants and pilots will also be strengthened.

Total airline capacity is projected to average around 76% in the third and fourth quarters of fiscal 2022-23.

Singapore Airlines expects strong demand ahead of the peak travel season at the end of the year. “We expect forward sales to remain strong in the coming months leading up to the Lunar New Year period,” it added, adding that “forecast global economic headwinds will weaken freight demand in the coming quarters.” is expected,” he warned. He also warned that macroeconomic uncertainties remained, including high fuel prices, inflationary pressures across supply chains, geopolitical issues and the risk of a global recession. Concerns beyond the Lunar New Year period. These could pose challenges to passenger and freight demand across the SIA Group’s key markets. (Ani)