Image Credit: SIA Group
Robust demand for air travel continued into the Northern Summer travel season, led by the rebound in passenger traffic to North Asia with the full reopening of China, Hong Kong SAR, Japan, and Taiwan. This resulted in record half-year operating and net profits for the SIA Group.
SIA and Scoot carried 17.4 million passengers in the first six months of FY2023/24, an increase of 52.3% year-on-year. Passenger traffic grew 38.0% from a year before, outpacing the capacity expansion of 29.0%. As a result, the Group passenger load factor (PLF) improved by 5.8 percentage points to 88.8%, the highest ever half yearly PLF.
SIA and Scoot achieved record PLFs of 88.0% and 91.3% respectively.
The demand for air freight remained soft due to inventory overhang, as well as geopolitical and macroeconomic headwinds. The cargo load factor fell 8.4 percentage points to 52.7% year-on-year as cargo loads dipped 6.0%, while capacity grew 8.9% mainly due to increased passenger aircraft belly hold space. Increased competition and softer demand also contributed to the downward pressure on cargo yields, which fell by 46.2% from a year before. Nevertheless, at 41.8 cents per load tonne kilometre, cargo yields remained 37.0% above pre-pandemic levels1.
Revenues (Quoted in Singapore Dollars)
Group revenue rose $745 million (+8.9%) to $9,162 million, with the $1,571 million (+26.3%) increase in passenger flown revenue to $7,550 million partially offset by a $1,039 million (-49.5%) decline in cargo flown revenue to $1,060 million. *All quoted Figures are in Singapore Dollars
Expenditure increased by $427 million (+5.9%) to $7,609 million, with the rise in non-fuel expenditure of $840 million (+18.7%) partially offset by a $413 million decrease (-15.3%) in net fuel cost. Net fuel cost fell to $2,283 million mainly due to a 29.2% decrease in fuel prices (-$1,077 million), despite higher volume uplifted (+$566 million) and lower fuel hedging gain (+$173 million). The 18.7% increase in non-fuel
expenditure was in-line with the 19.9% increase in overall passenger and cargo capacity.
Overall, the Group recorded an operating profit of $1,554 million, $320 million higher than a year before.
The Group posted a net profit of $1,441 million, $514 million more than the previous year (+55.4%), on the strong operating performance. The improvement in the bottom line was also aided by the net interest income versus net finance charges last year (+$222 million) and share of profits versus share of losses of associated companies last year (+$87 million), partially offset by a higher tax expense (-$118 million).
Further information can be found here: nr-q2fy2324.pdf (singaporeair.com)
