A Singapore Airlines Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner approaches for landing at Singapore Changi airport in Singapore on Nov 5, 2024. (Photo: AFP/Roslan Rahman)

Singapore Airlines posts 57% drop in annual profit, flags surging fuel costs

Air India posted a US$2.8 billion loss for FY2025/26, according to shareholder Singapore Airlines’ annual financial statements.

14 May 2026, 11:47 · CNA · Join

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SINGAPORE: Singapore Airlines (SIA) posted a 57.4 per cent drop in full-year net profit on Thursday (May 14), warning that higher fuel costs were still filtering through and would weigh more fully in the year ahead.

The closure of the Strait of Hormuz following the outbreak of the US-Israeli war on Iran in late February has sent jet fuel prices surging far beyond the rise in crude prices, compounding cost pressures across the global aviation industry.

The impact on expenditure was only partially reflected in March 2026, as the group's fuel bills are typically priced on a lagged basis, Singapore's flag carrier said.

"While SIA and Scoot have raised air fares across their network, the adjustments do not fully offset the rise in the price of jet fuel, which is the group's single-largest expenditure item," it said.

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The full impact of the surge is expected to feed through in the next year, the statement added.

"Depending on the duration and how the situation in the Middle East develops, there could be broader implications for supply chains and macroeconomic conditions affecting demand patterns," it said.

The company's net profit of S$1.18 billion (US$927.09 million) came in above Visible Alpha's consensus estimate of S$1.08 billion. Last year, it booked a one-time gain of S$1.1 billion from the full integration of its Vistara joint venture into Air India.

Air India posted a US$2.8 billion loss for FY2025/26, shareholder Singapore Airlines also revealed in its annual financial statements on Thursday, its biggest loss since it was bought by the Tata Group in 2022.

SIA said it remained "committed to its 25.1 per cent investment in the Air India Group, which is a core component of its long-term multi-hub strategy".

However, it noted that Air India "faces headwinds such as industry-wide supply chain constraints, air space restrictions, constraints on operations to its key Middle East markets, and elevated jet fuel prices".

"Nonetheless, it continues to make progress in its fleet renewal and aircraft retrofit program, initiatives to elevate the end-to-end customer experience, and improve its operational performance," said SIA.

SIA and its budget airline Scoot carried a record 42.4 million passengers in FY2025/26, a 7.7 per cent year-on-year increase amid "robust" demand for air travel.

As of Mar 31, the group's operating fleet comprises 218 passenger and freighter aircraft, with SIA operating 148 passenger aircraft and seven freighters, and Scoot operating 63 passenger aircraft.

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