Singapore Airlines posted a 15 percent fall in quarterly profit, hit by high jet fuel costs and slowing demand for air travel, but still managed to beat market expectations.
Singapore Air said April-June net profit was SGD$358.6 million (USD$263 million) compared with SGD$424 million a year ago.
Revenues for the airline, which relies on premium and business travellers for half its sales, were SGD$4.13 billion compared with SGD$3.6 billion a year ago.
Asian airlines face a massive hit to earnings as high fuel costs and dwindling demand create turbulence that has already bankrupted some small carriers.
Jet fuel traded in Singapore has come off a peak hit this month above USD$181 per barrel but is still about 80 percent above levels seen a year ago, reflecting the spike in crude oil.
Singapore Air, 55 percent-owned by sovereign fund Temasek, has reported five straight months of falling combined passenger and cargo loads, as demand failed to keep pace with higher capacity boosted by the delivery of five Airbus A380 superjumbos.
Singapore Air shares are down 12 percent since the start of the year, outperforming the benchmark Straits Times index's 16 percent fall and rivals Qantas, which fell 36 percent, and Cathay Pacific, down 24 percent.
(Reuters)
Source: http://news.airwise.com/story/view/1217238975.html