The financial results Singapore Airlines unveiled yesterday were much stronger than expected, highlighting the strength of the recovery in the Asian airline sector.
The Singapore flag carrier managed to trim an 88 per cent drop in net profit at the mid-year mark in September to just over 61 per cent for the whole year to March, beating analysts' expectations, which ranged from S$290 million to S$407 million (about HK$1.24 billion to HK$1.75 billion).
The airline managed to avoid falling into red ink for the first time in its thirty-year history, which was widely expected by financial media and analysts.
To put SIA's result into context, its closest competitor in Asia, Cathay Pacific Airways, posted a net loss of HK$662 million in March for the six months between June and December.
While SIA had to contend with the collapse of its investment in Air New Zealand and the drop-off in traffic following the September 11 terrorist attacks, Cathay arguably faced tougher problems.
An industrial dispute initiated by Cathay's pilots union unluckily coincided with the first of two major storms last summer, both of which virtually shut down Chek Lap Kok airport for several days.