Singapore Airlines (SIA) saw its net profit climb 73 percent to US$62 million in the three months ended June 30, up from $35.81 million a year earlier, largely on higher passenger volume as its cargo losses continued to expand.
SIA posted the profit after recording a loss in the first quarter of the year.
Group revenue rose 6 percent to $2.9 billion for the second quarter year-over-year.
But SIA’s cargo unit booked operating losses of $39 million in the second quarter from a loss of $11.1 million for the same period last year.
SIA Cargo saw a 5.6 percent year-over-year decline in load metric ton kilometers for the second quarter even with cuts in available freight capacity, pulling load factors down by 1.9 percentage points to 62.8 percent.
The airline projected a gloomy cargo outlook for the rest of the year in a “difficult environment,” noting that prices of jet fuel are still almost record high, Europe continues to battle its debt crisis, and the U.S remains in slow recovery mode.
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