We have seen how airlines in Europe and North America are moving into making a profit more recently or, at the very least, have greatly reduced losses. However, what is the situation in the Far East? Singapore Airlines has so far had a positive story since the lifting of pandemic restrictions. As we know, Singapore Airlines has increased its passenger numbers and reach in order to meet growing demand. In particular, since the lifting of restrictions, there has been an increase in demand from both people wanting to visit Singapore as well as Singaporeans themselves wanting to travel to other countries.
Singapore Airlines’ Financial Performance
So how has this translated in terms of financial performance? Well, according to the most recent quarterly results published ending 30th June, the airline is now making a net profit of 370 million Singapore dollars. This is a significant improvement from the time of the company’s previous quarterly release published ending March 31st, at which Singapore Airlines made a loss of 210 million Singapore dollars. This is a common occurrence across airlines around the world. In Europe, British Airways returned to profit in the months ending June 30th.
In North America, Southwest Airlines, Delta Airlines and American Airlines all returned to profit more recently. It appears that after pandemic restrictions were reduced, airlines are all managing to improve their figures at around this time as passenger numbers have picked up.
In the case of Singapore Airlines, the press release indicates the fact that the company has had improved operational performance. It cites that its operating profit (profit before the deduction of tax and loan interest payments) is now 556 million Singaporean dollars compared with a 67 million Singapore dollar loss at the time of the company’s March quarterly statements. This indicates that the company is happy with the way the airline is generally being run and the way that flights are being operated. There have been increases in expenses as well. However, these have largely been put down to increases in fuel costs however, even this has been slightly reduced by hedging.
Improvement in Singapore Airlines’ Revenue
The company has had a significant improvement in its revenue (total money received). The revenue for the quarter ending June 30th was 3.991 billion Singapore Dollars when compared to 2.539 billion Singapore dollars for the previous quarter. This is an increase of 57%. The company is now making more money due to increased money received from passengers as well as an increase in the number of passengers, as indicated in the financial statements.
Singapore Airlines carried 3.839 million passengers in the quarter leading up to June 30th as opposed to 1.712 million passengers in the previous quarter. This indicates that passenger numbers have gone up by 124%, which is more than double the number of passengers in the previous quarter. The increase in passenger yield from 11.9 cents per kilometre to 12.3 cents per kilometre indicates that the airline is able to charge higher ticket prices.
All in all, therefore a positive story for this airline, as is common with other airlines at this time. Like many, Singapore Airlines is now starting to make a profit after having issues during the pandemic. It has also been affected by increased expenses due to hiked fuel costs. However, the overall impression given by the airline is positive as it recruits more staff and expands its fleet. We have to wait to see how this progresses.
