SINGAPORE Airlines (SIA) incurred an unexpected $38 million loss
in the three months from January to March.
It brought earnings for the full financial year to $336 million,
a dip of almost 70 per cent on 2010-2011.
The loss also marked the carrier's first quarter in the red in
more than two years. Analysts had projected that profits would fall
due to high oil prices and weak yields, but the loss surprised
many.
SIA said it went into the red mainly due to the cost of
disposing of its last Boeing 747-400 aircraft.
Analysts, however, pointed out that even without taking into
account the B-747 factor, the group - made up of the parent
carrier, its regional arm SilkAir, SIA Cargo and SIA Engineering -
suffered an operating loss of $5 million during the quarter.
Total spending for the 12 months ended March 31 increased by 10
per cent to $14.6 billion, mainly on the back of high fuel
prices.
Although SIA carried more passengers during the year, stiff
competition from other carriers, as well as weak economic growth in
some markets, especially in Europe and the United States, put
pressure on fares and pushed yields down.
The future has many challenges, the airline said. When he last
met reporters and analysts in November, SIA chief executive officer
Goh Choon Phong said the problems facing SIA were different from
those during the last global financial slowdown in 2008.
Back then, the downturn was sharp but recovery came fairly
quickly. Fuel prices also fell significantly.
SIA will pay shareholders a final dividend of 10 cents per
share, down from 40 cents a year ago.
wa kao.
Tiger airways not theirs rite.
mai lai mai lai... Heng I never buy SIA shares last month..
