Virus-hit Singapore Airlines suffers US$800 mln Q1 loss
- by Johnnie Parks
- in Money
- — Aug 1, 2020
Revenue for the group plunged 79.3 per cent to $851 million year on year, while expenditure dropped 51.6 per cent to $1.89 billion, the company said in a regulatory filing.
The review, which should be completed by the end of this quarter, could lead to a material impairment of about S$1 billion on the carrying values of older generation aircraft, particularly Airbus SE A380s, Singapore Airlines said. At that same time, SilkAir had ceased all operations except flights to Chongqing, China. SilkAir and Scoot also operated minimal networks but added services later on. Net fuel cost fell S$1 billion (-86.8 percent), as capacity cuts and lower fuel prices led to a reduction in fuel cost before hedging of S$1.14 billion (-93.2 percent).
Singapore Airlines was operating only to 24 cities by the end of June.
Shares of Singapore Airlines (SIA) Group (SGX: C6L) fell 1.12% on Wednesday 29 July 2020, the same day that the company released Q1 results for its 2020/2021 financial year. Out of a fleet of 213 passenger aircraft, only 32 are being deployed for passenger services, the airline said.
More news: Vietnam reports first virus death after months of successful countermeasuresThe number of passengers carried dropped 99.6% in the first quarter from a year earlier, with the airline filling just 10.2% of the seats on offer, though cargo held up better due to high freight demand.
The airline said it has reached an agreement with Airbus on adjusting aircraft deliveries and payments, though it didn't provide details.
The group also reiterated the outlook provided in an earlier circular, stating that "the recovery trajectory in global air travel is slower than initially expected", and will take between two to four years for passenger traffic numbers to return to pre-pandemic levels.
On Tuesday IATA said global air traffic is unlikely to return to pre-coronavirus levels until at least 2024 - a year later than previously projected.
More news: Kim Kardashian and Kanye Wests future hangs in balanceIn all, SIA has raised about $11 billion in liquidity since the start of its financial year in April. The airlines said Wednesday that the recovery trajectory in worldwide air travel is slower than initially expected, and that the group's passenger capacity may reach less than half of its pre-Covid-19 levels by the end of this fiscal year. "We will continue to optimise the usage of our freighters to capture demand opportunities and supplement our cargo capacity through the deployment of cargo-only passenger flights when justified", SIA said.
"Our current view for planning purposes is that by the end of FY20/21, the Group's passenger capacity may reach less than half of its pre-Covid-19 levels".
Meanwhile, Bloomberg Intelligence aviation analysts James Teo and Chris Muckensturm estimated in a 15 July note that SIA's Q1 net loss as well as "drag" from S$124 million in one-off costs due to the liquidation of its NokScoot joint venture in Thailand.
More news: Qualcomm : forecasts sales above estimates, settles dispute with Huawei
