Singapore, July 30: Singapore Airlines has suffered its first-ever quarterly net loss due to the combined effect of the Iraq war and the recent SARS outbreak, the national carrier said today. The airline - Asia's biggest by market capitalisation - lost 312.3 million Singapore dollars (US$178 million) between April and June, it said in a quarterly earnings report.
It posted a net profit of S$478.4 million (US$273 million) during the same period last year, the report said. The airline's revenue during the quarter fell 35 percent to S$1.65 billion (US$942 million) from S$2.54 billion (US$1.45 billion).
``The outlook for the next quarter and the rest of the year is still uncertain,'' it said. Despite the loss, Singapore Airlines' performance for the quarter was better than some expected. Analysts polled by Dow Jones newswires had predicted the airline would post a net loss of S$357 million (US$204 million).
Singapore Airlines had long been one of the most profitable carriers in Asia. The losses have been blamed on weak demand for flights, stemming from the war in Iraq and the outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome in Asia.
The airline slashed as many as 358 weekly flights in April and may when the virus was at its peak, and started to slowly reinstate them in late June.
Singapore Airlines said earlier this month that it's been losing 6 million Singapore dollars (US$3.42 million) daily since April because SARS. Bureau Report