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SIA reports $4.3 billion loss after “toughest year in history”
SINGAPORE - The Singapore Airlines Group (SIA) has reported a$4.3 billion net loss for 2020-21after what it describes as the toughest year in its history.
Passenger traffic was down 97.9% due to global restrictions on international travel, although strong cargo revenues cushioned the plunge in passenger contributions
SIA said a $2.0 billion non-cash impairment charge was largely on removal of 45 older aircraft.
The airline said that successive waves of COVID-19 infections and the emergence of more virulent strains over the 12 months has seen SIA Group passenger traffic (measured in revenue passenger-kilometres) shrink by 97.9% in the financial year ended March 31, 2021 from a year before.
Group revenue fell by $12,160 million (-76.1%) year-on-year to $3,816 million due to the plunge in the number of passengers flown revenue across Singapore Airlines, SilkAir and Scoot - the three passenger airlines within the Group.
This was partially offset by higher cargo flown revenue, which rose by $758 million (+38.8%) year-on-year to $2,709 million. Improvements in freighter utilisation, deployment of passenger aircraft for cargo-only flights, and removing seats from passenger cabins to create additional volume for cargo partially mitigated the loss of passenger aircraft bellyhold capacity during the pandemic, the airline said.
Strong air cargo demand, especially in key segments such as e-commerce, pharmaceuticals and electronics, provided strong support for both cargo load factors and yields amid tight industry cargo capacity.
www.singaporeair.com.sg (ATI).