SINGAPORE: Singapore Airlines on Feb 4 posted a S$142 million net loss within the third quarter as passenger numbers plunged by 97.6 percent because of the pandemic, though its cargo business held up better given a tight freight market.
The loss compared with the prior yr’s S$315 million profit within the quarter ended Dec 31. Revenue fell 76.1 percent to S$1.07 billion.
The bottom line loss was slimmer than its S$331 million operating loss due to a tax credit. Broker UOB Kay Hian had expected it to report a core loss of around S$470 million for the quarter, excluding any impairment costs, whereas UBS had forecast a net loss of S$330 million.
Singapore Airlines operated around 19 percent of its pre-pandemic passenger capacity in December and mentioned it expected to reach around 25 percent of normal levels by the end of April as it adds flights to its schedule despite the spread of more transmissible variants of the coronavirus.
“In line with Singapore’s progressive re-opening, the group expects to see a measured expansion of the passenger network over the coming months,” the airline mentioned in a statement. “We’ll continue to monitor the status of travel restrictions and adjust our capacity accordingly to meet the visitor’s demand.”
The carrier will start operating Boeing 737-800 planes at its main brand from March as a part of a plan to merge its regional offshoot SilkAir into the parent, with full integration expected by March 2022.
Singapore Airlines has raised S$13.3 billion since the beginning of the pandemic and mentioned discussions on aircraft sale and leaseback deals were at an advanced stage.
The airline’s staff have begun to be vaccinated against COVID-19 as a part of the government’s goal of making it the first service to have fully vaccinated staff.
The airline last yr reduce 4,300 jobs, or around 20 percent of its employees, due to the pandemic-related collapse in travel demand.
