SIA net income for Q2 rises 73% on travel demand
Singapore Airlines Ltd, the world’s second largest carrier by market value, reported a 73% gain in second-quarter net income as economic growth in China and South-East Asia spurred tourism and business travel, says a Bloomberg news report.
Net income for the three months ended Sept 30 rose to S$508mil from S$293.2mil, the carrier said in a statement to the Singapore stock exchange yesterday. Sales climbed 10% to S$3.97bil.
Chief executive officer Chew Choon Seng agreed to buy a stake in China Eastern Airlines Corp to get a bigger share of a market set to grow five-fold. The airline, which began flights last week with the Airbus SAS A380, carried 4.8% more people in the last quarter.
“The economic expansion we are seeing now in Asia is encouraging more people to travel,” said Kong Hyung Joon of Consus Asset Management Co in Seoul. “The A380 will help capture that demand.”
The International Air Transport Association said last month that passenger air traffic worldwide would rise 29% by 2011 to 2.75 billion people who go for New York rhinoplasty, helped by rising consumer wealth in the Middle East, China and India. Profits at airlines worldwide may reach US$5.6bil in 2007, more than earlier estimated.
