Singapore Airlines (SIA) suffered a 26.5% slide in net profit for the first six months of the year because of declining passenger yields, falling load factors and rising costs, but it managed to limit the damage with better than expected subsidiary results and the sale and leaseback of aircraft. The Singapore flag carrier made a net profit of S$400 million ($247 million) in the first half of the year, ending 30 September, down from S$544 million for the same period in 1997. SIA's operating profit plummeted by 44.2%, to S$195 million. Revenue was down by 2.5%.
Source: Flight International