Singapore Airlines first-quarter loss narrows on cargo demand boost

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FILE PHOTO: FILE PHOTO: A Singapore Airlines Airbus A330-300 plane takes off behind a Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner at Changi Airport in Singapore March 28, 2018. REUTERS/Edgar Su

 

(Reuters) - Singapore Airlines Ltd (SIA) on Thursday posted a S$409 million ($302 million) first-quarter loss, narrower than a year earlier, helped by a strong air cargo market and no major impairments.

 

The airline forecast passenger capacity to reach 33% of pre-pandemic levels in the second quarter, and said it would serve at least 50% of locations it did before by the end of September.

 

The airline, like Hong Kong rival Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd, lacks a domestic market and is solely reliant on international travel at a time when most borders remain closed.

 

SIA carried 132,600 passengers in the month of June, an improvement on its June 2020 figures but a 96% fall from the same month two years earlier, before the pandemic hit.

 

It filled just 16.1% of seats in June, with its flights heavily reliant on cargo for revenue at a time when the freight market is strong.

 

The company posted a record S$1.1 billion loss in the first quarter a year earlier.

 

Revenue in the just-ended quarter came in at S$1.30 billion, up from S$851 million a year earlier.

 

Cargo flown revenue grew 32.4% and the company said demand fundamentals for the business remained strong, even though fresh pandemic-related restrictions in parts of the world could cause short-term uncertainty.

 

SIA, unlike rival national carriers in Southeast Asia, still has a healthy cash balance to help it get through a period of low travel. It recently raised S$6.2 billion of convertible bonds underwritten by its largest shareholder, state investor Temasek Holdings.

 

The airline also said 98% of active pilots and cabin crew have been vaccinated.

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2021-07-29