Singapore Airlines (SIA) has reported lower earnings for the 2QFY2025/2026 ended Sept 30 of $52 million, down 82.1% y-o-y.
For the 1HFY2025/2026, earnings declined 67.8% y-o-y to $239 million.
This decline in earnings for the period under reporting is due to share of losses from Air India which were not included in the previous year, and a lower interest income drag down. SIA began equity accounting for Air India’s financial performance from December 2024 following the full integration of Vistara into Air India.
SIA has a 25.1% stake in the Air India Group. The company said that the share of results of associated companies was $417 million lower y-o-y in the first half, reflecting the Indian carrier’s losses.
For the 2QFY2025/2026, revenue improved 2.2% y-o-y to $4.89 billion. Revenue for the first half of the reporting period came in 1.9% y-o-y higher at $9.7 billion.
This rise in group revenue for the 1HFY2025/2026 is due to a strong demand for air travel, with SIA and Scoot carrying 20.8 million passengers, 8.0% more y-o-y.
See also: Venture Corp reports 3QFY2025 net profit of $55.6 mil, 8.3% lower y-o-y
Group passenger load factor (PLF) increased by 1.3 percentage points (ppts) to 87.7%, as traffic growth of 4.6% exceeded capacity expansion of 3.0%. Passenger yields declined 2.9% to 9.9 cents per revenue per passenger-kilometre, driven by increased competition.
Cargo flown revenue declined by 2.8% y-o-y to $1.071 billion.
Group expenditure rose 2% y-o-y to $8.87 billion, as the increase in non-fuel expenditure outpaced the reduction in net fuel cost.
See also: F&N’s profit after tax falls 4% y-o-y to $210.4 mil in FY2025
Consequently, SIA recorded an operating profit of $803 million in the first half of FY2025/26.
Similarly, for the 2QFY2025/2026, operating profit rose 22.5% y-o-y to $398 million supported by a record second quarter revenue growth of 2.2% y-o-y.
For the second quarter, passenger flown revenue increased 2.2% y-o-y to $3.92 billion, but cargo flown revenue was down 3.7% y-o-y from lower loads and yields.
As at Sept 30, the group’s shareholders’ equity was $15.5 billion, and total debt balances fell $2 billion reducing the debt-equity ratio from 0.82 times to 0.70 times.
Cash and bank balances declined to $6.4 billion due to the payment of FY2024/2025 final dividend payment and repayment of borrowings. This was partially offset by net cash generated by operations.
SIA maintains access to additional liquidity of $3.3 billion via committed lines of credit, all of which remain undrawn.
During the first half of FY2025/26, $714 million of convertible bonds issued in December 2020 were converted into 150 million ordinary shares at conversion prices of $4.8945 and $4.6761.
For more stories about where money flows, click here for Capital Section
These bonds, which are due to mature in December 2025, bear interest at 1.625% per annum (p.a.) and are convertible at the option of the holder, at the prevailing conversion price up to and including Nov 24. As at Sept 30, $136 million worth of convertible bonds remain outstanding.
Fleet and network development, and outlook
As at Sept 30, SIA’s operating fleet comprised 208 passenger and freighter aircraft with an average age of seven years and eight months.
In the second quarter, SIA added three Boeing 737-8s, bringing its operating fleet to 145 passenger aircraft and seven freighters. Scoot took delivery of two Airbus A320neos, one Boeing 787-8, and one Embraer E190-E2, bringing its fleet to 56 passenger aircraft. The Group has 67 aircraft on order.
From Oct 2025 to March 2026, SIA will increase frequencies to destinations like Auckland, Busan, Da Nang, Kathmandu, Kochi, Phuket, Siem Reap and Tokyo (Haneda). It will also operate supplementary services to Chitose (Sapporo), Christchurch and Taipei.
Scoot launched services to Da Nang and Kota Bahru in October. It will increase frequencies to Bali, Bangkok, Jakarta and Penang from Oct 2025 to March 2026. Scoot will begin operations to Nha Trang in November, and Labuan Bajo, Okinawa and Semarang in December. It will start services to Chiang Rai in Jan 2026, Medan in Feb 2026 and Tokyo in March 2026.
SIA says that its stake in Air India Group is part of its long-term multi-hub strategy and the strategic investment compliments the group’s Singapore hub.
“Despite the ongoing challenges, the SIA Group remains committed to working with its partner Tata Sons to support Air India’s comprehensive multi-year transformation programme,” the release notes.
The board of SIA has declared an interim special dividend of 3 cents per share as the first payment from a special dividend package of 10 cents per share annually over three financial years.
The board has also declared an interim dividend of 5 cents per share for the half-year ended Sept 30, bringing the total dividend for the first half of FY2025/26 to 8 cents per share.
The second tranche of 7 cents per share for FY2025/2026 is subject to shareholders’ approval at the AGM in 2026.
Shares in SIA closed 3 cents lower or 0.449% down at $6.65 on Nov 13.
