AFP - Thursday, August 7
SINGAPORE, Aug 7, 2008 (AFP) - Budget carrier Tiger Airways said Thursday it had booked a net profit of 37.8 million Singapore dollars (27.33 million US) in the financial year to March, despite higher oil prices and stiff competition.
The carrier said the earnings from its Singapore operations reversed a loss of 14.3 million dollars in the previous fiscal year and met a pledge to be profitable within its third year of operation.
Tiger, 49 percent owned by Singapore Airlines, said revenues rose 56 percent to 271 million dollars. It said it had a cash balance of 19.6 million dollars.
The firm said operations from Singapore contributed the profits as its new Australian domestic service was still expanding.
"Even with the challenging market conditions and current oil prices we remain confident about the long-term success of both our Asian and Australian based airlines," said Tiger chief executive Tony Davis.
"We continue to see strong demand for our low fares and we are committed to continued growth as we expand our operations in both Australia and Singapore."
Tiger Airways did not give net profit figures for the fiscal first quarter to June, but said there was a 57.8 percent increase in revenue, a 64.9 percent rise in seat capacity and that passenger numbers climbed 73.7 percent.
Davis said the airline was able to cope with higher fuel costs by hedging against price rises and maintaining disciplined cost control.
"Clearly oil has been a challenge for all airlines. But... we're not seeing the impact that some other airlines are seeing in Europe and North America of reducing demand," Davis told reporters.
He said the firm was making sure it could cope with higher oil prices, but stood ready to take advantage of a correction in crude costs.
Oil prices were trading below 120 dollars a barrel on Thursday after falling from all-time peaks above 147 dollars last month.
Tiger Airways connects Singapore with destinations in Southeast Asia, China, Australia and India.