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Bloomberg
Singapore Airlines Ltd swung to a profit in the three months through June, as the end of travel restrictions across most of the world sparked a surge in demand for flights.
The airline said in a statement that it posted net income of S$370 million ($268 million) in the quarter, compared with a loss of S$409 million in the same period in 2021. Revenue came in at S$3.91 billion versus S$1.3 billion a year earlier.
Passenger load factor rose 34.1 percentage points to 79%, the highest since the onset of the pandemic, as traffic growth outpaced capacity expansion of 28.9%. Capacity for the group, which includes Scoot Airlines, is projected to rise to about 68% of pre-Covid levels in the second quarter and to 76% by the third. It was just 3% in April 2020.
Operating profit was $556 million in the three months through June, the second-highest quarterly figure ever, the company said. Singapore Airlines and Scoot carried 5.1 million passengers last quarter, with robust demand in all cabin classes and all regions apart from east Asia, where some border restrictions remain in place.
Singapore started dismantling its Covid border curbs last year, initially via so-called vaccinated travel lanes with a handful of countries to allow inoculated people to enter without having to do quarantine, and then opening more widely to travellers from everywhere. While the city-state is still reporting several thousand infections a day, most virus curbs such as limits on gatherings have been lifted and authorities are preparing to vaccinate young children.
Singapore Airlines said expenditure rose by 32% from the previous quarter to S$3.4 billion, including a 71% jump in net fuel costs to S$1.3 billion as fuel prices rose 40%. That was partly offset by fuel hedging gains, it said. Elevated fuel prices remain a concern, the airline said, while interest-rate increases and slowing economic growth in many countries are risks to the recovery in passenger travel and air cargo demand.