The SIA Group of Singapore, whose flagship brand is Singapore Airlines, has posted a net profit of SGD2.16 billion for the financial year ending on March 31, 2023. Announcing the audited financial results for FY2022-23 late yesterday, the SIA Group said that this net profit was the highest in the group’s 76-year history.
The SIA Group consists of Singapore Airlines, its subsidiary, joint venture, and associated companies. Listing the factors that led to this remarkable success after the lean period of the pandemic, the Group’s media release said:
• Strong demand drives record revenue, operating profit and passenger load factor for the Group
• Robust near-term forward passenger sales across all cabin classes
• Cargo revenue remained above pre-COVID levels despite softer demand
• Commitment to best-in-class products and services, and continued investment in strategic initiatives
However, the Group also said that the “airline industry continues to navigate geopolitical and economic uncertainties, high cost inflation, and increasing global passenger capacity”.
The release said that the Group used the challenges of the pandemic “to shore up liquidity and build its financial resilience”. It also retained most of its “talented staff” and kept “a large proportion of the Group’s aircraft fleet” operational.
Overall, the Group did everything to position itself for optimised success when the recovery fully took effect. Scoot, the Singapore-based low-cost carrier that is a fully owned subsidiary of Singapore Airlines, was strengthened along with its parent company.
“As a result, when the demand for air travel surged in FY2022-23 after Singapore fully reopened its borders in April 2022, and as restrictions on international air travel eased globally, SIA and Scoot could ramp up operations at short notice,” said the SIA Group.
“Working collaboratively with key members of Singapore’s aviation ecosystem, both carriers were among the first to launch flights as borders reopened, and captured the pent-up demand as air travel returned. Group passenger capacity reached 79 per cent of pre-COVID levels in March 2023, higher than the 58 per cent level for international scheduled services of Asia-Pacific airlines.
“[Singapore Airlines] and Scoot collectively carried 26.5 million passengers, up six-times from a year before. The passenger load factor (PLF) jumped 55.3 percentage points to 85.4 per cent, the highest in the Group’s history. [Singapore Airlines] achieved a record PLF of 85.8 per cent, while Scoot delivered a PLF of 83.9 per cent.”
The Group’s cargo segment delivered a moderate performance year-on-year “as the demand for air freight declined”.
Young fleet of new generation aircraft
The SIA Group said, “As of March 31, 2023, the Group had 195 aircraft in its operating fleet, comprising 188 passenger aircraft and seven freighters. [Singapore Airlines]’s operating fleet comprised 133 passenger aircraft4 and seven freighters, while Scoot had 55 passenger aircraft5.
“With an average age of six years and nine months, the Group fleet is one of the youngest and most fuel-efficient in the airline industry. This allows it to pursue operating efficiencies and continue offering world-class products and services to its customers.
“This also supports the Group’s decarbonisation goals, as operating a young fleet of new generation aircraft is the most effective and direct way for an airline to materially lower carbon emissions in the near term.”