Singapore Airlines said on Wednesday that net profit for the six months to Sept. 30 fell 43.9% to S$134 million from S$239 million a year earlier, as a near doubling of its fuel bill swallowed record revenue of S$11.3 billion.

The result was still about twice what analysts had pencilled in. MarketScreener put the Visible Alpha consensus at S$65.3 million. For investors in Asia, the numbers show how far an airline with pricing power can go in passing on an oil shock, and where it stops. The shares closed at S$7.17 on the day, up 0.42%, according to MarketScreener.

Fuel costs rise 90% at Singapore Airlines

Jet fuel averaged US$171 a barrel over the half, 86.7% more than a year earlier, which the group tied to the conflict in the Middle East. Fuel costs before hedging climbed 90.3% to S$4.7 billion. Hedging gains of S$731 million, against a S$75 million loss a year before, softened the blow, leaving net fuel costs up 56% at S$3.97 billion.

Total expenditure rose 20.9% to S$10.73 billion. Non-fuel costs grew a more modest 6.8%, reflecting extra capacity and inflation. Operating profit fell 29.1% to S$569 million.

The revenue side was strong. Singapore Airlines and its budget unit Scoot flew a record 21.8 million passengers, up 5%. Passenger yields rose 12.1% to 11.1 Singapore cents per revenue passenger-kilometre, and passenger flown revenue climbed 16.8% to S$9.1 billion. Load factor slipped 0.9 percentage point to 86.8%, because capacity grew faster than traffic.

Cargo did better still. Revenue from freight jumped 30.2% to S$1.39 billion on yields 25.4% higher, and the cargo load factor rose two points to 58.5%. The airline said cargo demand has been firm on semiconductor and cloud-computing shipments and on goods shifting from sea to air because of disruptions to maritime routes, a trend also visible in Changi's September air cargo numbers.

A weak first quarter, a better second

The half hides two very different quarters. In the April to June period, operating profit collapsed 73.8% to S$106 million and the group swung to a S$76 million net loss, according to its July business update.

The second quarter was a turnaround. Operating profit rose 16.3% to S$463 million on record quarterly revenue of S$5.58 billion, and net profit reached S$210 million against S$52 million a year earlier. Passenger yields rose 12.2% and cargo yields 22.3% in the quarter, while net fuel costs rose 33.9%, a slower pace than in the first three months.

Air India also hurt less. The group's share of losses from its associates, mainly the 25.1% stake in the Indian carrier, improved by S$68 million over the half and by S$110 million in the second quarter. MarketScreener put Singapore Airlines' share of Air India losses at S$361.7 million, down from S$429.5 million. Lower tax expenses added another S$70 million to the bottom line.

Dividend held, balance sheet still strong

The board declared an interim ordinary dividend of 2 cents a share and an interim special dividend of 5 cents, the second instalment of a three-year special payout of 10 cents a share a year announced in November 2025. Both are payable on Dec. 11 to shareholders on the register as of Nov. 26.

Debt fell by S$637 million, mainly after a US$500 million bond matured, and the debt-to-equity ratio eased to 0.61 times from 0.62. Cash and bank balances rose to S$8.12 billion, and the group has S$3.23 billion of committed credit lines, all undrawn. Capital spending in the half was S$1.11 billion. The company has 58 aircraft on order and last week detailed plans for new cabins across its long-haul fleet.

The outlook was guarded. The airline said passenger demand remains healthy into the year-end season, but conceded that higher fares and cargo rates do not fully cover sustained high fuel prices, and that a prolonged conflict could feed inflation and weaken travel and freight demand. Services to Dubai and Jeddah remain suspended, and the start of flights to Riyadh has been pushed back to March 2027.

Capacity is still growing. Singapore Airlines plans to add Madrid, via Barcelona, and daily flights to the new Western Sydney International Airport during the northern winter season that runs to March 27.