SINGAPORE: Singapore Airlines Ltd (SIA), consistently voted one of the world’s best airlines by Skytrax, is poised for another hefty quarterly loss after the coronavirus left it flying a tiny fraction of its usual number of passengers.
The airline warned this month that it expects a material operating loss in its fiscal first quarter. It already suffered a record net loss of S$732mil (US$530mil) in the three months through March, when it was hit by fuel-hedging losses as well as a collapse in demand triggered by the outbreak. That left the carrier with its first annual loss in its 48-year history.
The net loss could widen to S$1.2bil for the quarter through June and revenue may slump 87% because of a 96% drop in capacity, according to Bloomberg Intelligence analysts James Teo and Chris Muckensturm. Fuel-hedging losses will again take a toll, and this time there are also S$124mil in liquidation costs for NokScoot Airlines Co. SIA owned a 49% stake in the low-cost Thai carrier that collapsed in June.
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