Singapore Airlines Group reported a net profit of S$85 million ($62.8 million) for the third quarter ended December 31st, marking the company's first profit since the COVID pandemic began. The airline credits its success to increased cargo revenues and passenger numbers as a result of Singapore's Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) programme.
First profitable quarter since December 2019
Singapore Airlines Group (SIA) has reported its first profit since December 2019, thanks to increased passenger traffic and a record quarter for cargo operations. The airline earned S$85 million ($62.8 million) in net profit on total revenues of S$2.32 billion ($1.71 billion), up from S$1.07 billion ($791 million) the year before.
Singapore Airlines Group said, "The Singapore Airlines (SIA) Group posted a quarterly profit for the first time since the onset of the pandemic, recording a third-quarter net profit of $85 million. This came amid a significant step-up in air travel to and through Singapore in the October-December 2021 period, as well as continued robust demand and strong yields in the cargo market."
Operating profit increased to S$76 million ($56 million), a significant improvement from the same quarter last year's operating losses of S$331 million ($245 million).
Despite a much-improved quarterly performance, net losses for the first nine months reached S$752 million ($556 million). This is nevertheless a significant improvement over the previous year's net losses of S$2.85 billion ($2.11 billion).
Passenger capacity 45% of pre-COVID
The loosening of travel restrictions in Singapore with the implementation of the VTL programme was particularly significant. SIA served about 1.1 million passengers, more than five times the number a year ago and more than doubling Q2 2021. Singapore Airlines handled 966,000 passengers, while Scoot, the airline's budget affiliate, handled the rest.
Record cargo revenues
SIA's cargo operations raked in record revenues for the quarter, in addition to an increase in passenger numbers. For the first time, the airline's cargo revenues surpassed S$1 billion, growing by 81% from S$744 million ($550 million) to S$1.35 billion ($999 million).
