SINGAPORE: National carrier Singapore Airlines reported a 70 per cent drop in net profit for its fiscal second quarter compared to a year ago, it said in a statement on Thursday (Nov 3).
Earnings for the three-month period came in at S$65 million, down from S$214 million a year ago.
Group operating profit declined 15.5 per cent, on the back of a 5 per cent drop in revenue.
SIA said most companies in the group recorded weaker operating results amid a sluggish global economy.
However low-cost carriers Scoot and Tiger Airways registered improvements. Scoot reported a S$5 million operating profit for Q2, compared to an operating loss of S$2 million in the same period last year, while Tiger Airways posted a S$3 million operating profit for the second quarter of this year, compared to an operating loss of S$10 million in the same period in 2015.
SIA attributed this to an extended network and reduced operating expenditure.
The airline operator cited a challenging environment for the quarter’s results. “The passenger airline business continues to be impacted by geopolitical uncertainty and weak global economic conditions. The outlook in most major economies remains tepid,” it said in a news release.
Meanwhile, excess capacity and aggressive pricing continued to put pressure on loads and yields, SIA added.
The airline has declared an interim dividend of 9 cents a share.
