Singapore Airlines has reported a sharp decline in profits, dragged down by heavy losses at its associate airline, Air India.
Air India's results were not part of Singapore Airline's earnings in the previous year. The Singapore carrier has a 25.1% stake in Air India Group following the merger of Vistara into Air India, which was completed in November last year. Singapore Airlines began accounting for Air India's financial performance from December 2024.
The airline said that its stake in the Indian airline will give it “direct participation in the fast-growing Indian market". Air India is halfway through its transformation programme, which began in September 2022. The programme aims to improve all aspects of the business, including fleet, customer experience, operations, and processes.
During an earnings call, Singapore Airlines Group CEO Goh Choon Phong said the investment in Air India is a long-term one, and that Singapore remains committed to the airline.
Singapore Airlines' net profits fell 82.1% in the second quarter, ending September 2025, to S$52 million. For the first first half of the fiscal year, profits dropped 67.8% to S$239 million.
However, despite the drop in net profits, the airline's operating profits were up 22.5% in the second quarter, reaching S$398 million. First-half operating profits were relatively flat at a positive 0.9%, totalling S$803 million.
Revenues climbed 1.9% in the first half to S$9.7bn, while total expenditure was up 2% to S$8.9bn.
Second quarter revenues were up 2.2%, totalling S$4.9bn. This outpaced total expenditure growth, which was a positive 0.7% and totalled S$4.5bn.
The company said that air travel “remains resilient” going into the third fiscal quarter, further supported by year-end peak demand.
“The group will remain proactive and agile, adjusting its passenger network and capacity to match evolving demand patterns and maximise revenue opportunity,” the company said.
However, the air cargo segment “remains uncertain” amid the ongoing tariff war and trade conflicts.
“While cargo volumes are growing on the back of the group’s diversified network and verticals, yields remain under pressure as airlines redeploy cargo capacity from the US to other lanes,” the airline said.
Singapore plans to return a special dividend to shareholders of 10 cents per share over three financial years, amounting to around S$0.9bn over the period.
The board has declared an interim special dividend of 3 cents per share for the first payment from this package. This will be paid on December 23, 2025. The second tranche of 7 cents per share is subject to shareholder approval at its annual general meeting next year.
As of the end of September, the airline had a cash balance of S$6.4bn and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.7x.