SINGAPORE Airlines (SIA) recorded an unexpected loss of S$38 million (US$30 million) in the fourth quarter of its 2011-2012 financial year, hurt by soaring jet fuel prices, an uncertain global economy and the cost of phasing out its last B747-400 aircraft.
The loss, the airline’s first since the second quarter of 2010, contrasted with the S$171 million profit posted by the airline a year earlier.
Group revenue rose three per cent to S$3.7 million, but was outpaced by an eight per cent increase in expenditure and fuel costs — which rose 15 per cent during the last quarter. As a result, the group reported an operating loss of S$5 million.
Analysts surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires had forecasted declining profits for SIA due to high oil prices and weak yields, but none of them predicted a loss.
In the meantime, the national carrier also reported a sharp drop in its full-year net profit, down 69 per cent to S$336 million.
