SINGAPORE Airlines’ (SIA) net profit surged 146.7 per cent to S$1.6 billion for the third quarter ended Dec 31, 2024, from S$659 million in the year-ago period.
In a bourse filing on Thursday (Feb 20), the company attributed the boost to a one-off non-cash accounting gain of S$1.1 billion. This stemmed from the completion of the Air India-Vistara merger in November 2024.
SIA’s operating profit grew at a more modest year-on-year pace of 3.3 per cent to S$629 million, from S$609 million previously.
This came as revenue climbed 2.7 per cent to S$5.2 billion, from S$5.1 billion a year earlier.
SIA said in its update that it expects the demand for air travel to stay healthy in the last quarter of FY2025, even amid a competitive operating landscape, as yields and capacity normalise post-pandemic.
It added that demand for air cargo is supported by the e-commerce and perishables traffic, but yield moderation will likely persist as airlines increase bellyhold capacity and shippers secure forward rates.
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The two carriers under the group carried a total of 10.2 million passengers in Q3 FY2025 to December, 7.2 per cent higher year on year. Its budget carrier Scoot contributed 3.2 million (down 1 per cent) while the full-service airline accounted for seven million (up 11.4 per cent)
But both carriers clocked declines in their passenger load factor, which measures how much an airline’s passenger capacity has been utilised, for the period.
The full-service carrier’s metric was 0.5 percentage point lower at 87.1 per cent, whereas Scoot’s declined 3.1 percentage points to 87.4 per cent. This resulted in the group passenger load factor decreasing by one percentage point to 87.2 per cent.
In contrast, the cargo load factor rose 0.9 percentage point to 56.4 per cent.
The SIA group carried 29.4 million passengers in the first nine months of FY2025, 9.6 per cent higher than in the corresponding period of the prior year. The full-service carrier and the budget airline both chalked up improvement in passenger traffic. SIA’s rose 13.9 per cent to 19.9 million, and Scoot’s was up 1.6 per cent at 9.6 million.
But both carriers’ passenger load factors receded when compared with the same period in the previous year, with SIA’s being 1.6 percentage points lower at 86.2 per cent and Scoot’s 2.8 percentage points lower at 88.2 per cent. Thus the group’s capacity utilisation rate slipped two percentage points to 86.6 per cent.
Meanwhile, the cargo load factor for the nine-month period rose 3.4 percentage points to 57.1 per cent.
The SIA group passenger network covered 129 destinations in 36 countries and territories as at end-December, 2024. SIA served 80 destinations, and Scoot served 72.
Its cargo network comprised 133 destinations in 37 countries and territories.
SIA had 146 passenger aircraft and seven freighters, and Scoot had 54 passenger aircraft. The group also has 81 aircraft on order.
SIA shares closed down 0.2 per cent at S$6.42 on Thursday, before the business update.
