Singapore's Tiger Airways posts net profit, reversing losses

May 13, 2010, 14:13 GMT

Singapore - Singapore budget carrier Tiger Airways Holdings Ltd on Thursday posted a net profit of 22.3 million Singapore dollars (16.15 million US dollars) for the January-to-March quarter, turning around a loss of 17.9 million Singapore dollars from a year ago.

The carrier said it was helped by a jump in passenger numbers and by keeping its cost low.

Revenue in the fourth quarter of its financial year reached 140.6 million Singapore dollars, up from 86.8 million Singapore dollars for the same period last year.

For the full financial year, net profit came to 28.2 million Singapore dollars, reversing a loss of 50.8 million Singapore dollars posted a year earlier, while revenue grew 28.6 per cent to 486.2 million Singapore dollars, the airline said in its first full-year report since its listing on the Singapore stock exchange in January.

'We have clearly succeeded with our pure low-cost model,' chief executive Tony Davis said, adding that the company was 'well-positioned to take advantage of growth opportunities in the region.'

Passenger numbers for the past fiscal year jumped 53.8 per cent year-on-year to 4.87 million while the average load factor - the number of passengers as a percentage of available seats - climbed 5.7 percentage points to 85.1 per cent, the airline said.

Established in 2004 and 34.4-per-cent-owned by national flag carrier Singapore Airlines, Tiger Airways currently flies to 36 destinations across Asia and Australia, operating a fleet of 19 aircraft of the Airbus 320 family.