PUBLISHED ONBYSean LerNational carrier Singapore Airlines (SIA) posted a net profit of $134 million in the first half of 2026 amid a record $11.3 billion revenue, the group reported on Wednesday (Nov 11).
But despite total revenue growing by 16.8 per cent to better the $9.67 billion revenue posted in the same period last year, net profit fell by 43.9 per cent — from $239 million in the first half of its last financial year — to $134 million.
This was mainly due to high fuel costs, which grew 90.3 per cent to over $4.7 billion, weighing down revenue from record passenger carriage and robust cargo yield, SIA pointed out.
In the first half of its 2026/2027 financial year, SIA and Scoot saw passenger flown revenue reach nearly $9.1 billion as they carried a record 21.8 million passengers.
This, as passenger yields grew 12.1 per cent to 11.1 cents per revenue passenger-kilometre, while cargo revenue grew 30.2 per cent to over $1.39 billion.
Meanwhile, non-fuel expenditure rose by 6.8 per cent to $429 million, driven by overall capacity expansion and inflationary cost increases, the group said.
Coupled with the weaker first quarter performance, and partially offset by lower share of losses from associated companies — mainly Air India — its first half net profit consequently fell by $105 million as compared to the same period last year, to $134 million.
Specific to the second quarter of its current financial year, SIA's total revenue grew by 14.3 per cent to $5.58 billion, while its operating profit grew by 16.3 per cent to $463 million.
Despite this, SIA pointed out that it still holds one of the strongest balance sheets in the airline industry.
Its cash and bank balances grew by $191 million to $8.12 billion, largely due to the $2.5 billion net cash from operations, and $911 million in proceeds from the maturity of fixed deposits placed for tenors longer than 12 months.
These were partially offset by $1.11 billion worth of capital expenditure, $994 million in repayments of fixed rate bond and borrowings, and $915 million in payment of ordinary and special dividends.
The group also declared that its total cash and liquidity stood at $8.98 billion.
This consists of the $8.12 billion in cash and bank balances and $855 million in fixed deposits placed for tenors longer than 12 months, classified as other short-term assets.
It also has access to $3.23 billion in committed lines of credit that remain undrawn.
In the second quarter, SIA and its low-cost budget carrier Scoot, each took delivery of two new aircraft, bringing its operating fleet to 224 passenger and freighter aircraft. The group has another 58 on order.
And while the airline industry continues to operate in an uncertain environment, with volatile geopolitical developments adding complexity across operations and supply chains, the group said it is in a strong position to navigate these, pointing to its diversified global network and broad mix of traffic flows.
It also noted that passenger demand remains healthy, supported by seasonal travel flows, while cargo demand has been firm owing to semiconductor and cloud computing-related flows.
"The Group will maintain disciplined cost management to reinforce its long-term competitive position," SIA added.
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