Singapore Airlines (SIA) Group posted S$1.12 billion in net loss for Q1 FY2021, reversing the $$111 million net profit in the first quarter of FY2020, an announcement revealed. Revenue also drastically dropped 79.3% to S$851 million from S$4.1 billion over the same period, which was partially offset by cargo activity.  

SIA said that much of the cargo demand came from urgent movements of personal protective equipment, pharmaceuticals and fresh foods, which boosted the cargo load factor. 

However, cargo activity was not enough to offset the net loss no thanks to “weaker operating performance” as well as the S$127 million financial blow from NokScoot’s liquidation, mainly consisting the non-cash impairment of seven Boeing 777 aircraft.  

Meanwhile, SIA Group’s expenditure is down 51.6% YoY to S$1.89 billion in Q1 thanks to lower net fuel cost and non-fuel expenditure. The group registered an operating loss of S$1.04 billion in Q1 from the S$200 million operating profit in the same period last year. 

SIA anticipates global airfreight capacity to remain constrained in the near term due to lower belly capacity worldwide, as the group expects Q2 passenger capacity to be about 7% compared to pre-COVID levels. 

The airline added that it had deployed 33 passenger aircraft on cargo-only missions to further boost capacity.