SIA Cargo operating loss widens in the financial year’s first half

Singapore’s SIA Cargo saw its operating loss widened by S$33m from S$12m to S$45m in the first half of the Asian carrier’s 2016-17 financial year.
Freight carriage grew 7.3%, outpacing the capacity increase of 5.7%, resulting in an increase in cargo load factor by 0.9 percentage point to 61.6% for the six months ended September 2016. Revenue, however, declined S$101m as yield dropped 16.6%. This was partly mitigated by a reduction in expenditure, which was mainly attributable to lower fuel costs.
In the second quarter of the current financial year, SIA Cargo recorded an S$11m operating loss, compared with a S$3m loss in the like three month period ended September of 2015.
The carrier said that the outlook for its cargo business “remains challenging as yields are expected to stay under pressure due to overcapacity in the air cargo industry. Efforts will continue to be focused on higher-yielding product segments to improve the overall traffic mix”.
SIA Cargo operated a fleet of nine 747-400 freighters as at 30 September 2016.