Singapore Airlines' interim profit nearly halves on higher fuel costs

Singapore Airlines' interim net profit dropped nearly 44 per cent, hurt by a sharp spike in jet fuel costs stemming from the Middle East conflict, somewhat offset by its share of losses at Air India and other associates narrowing.The country's flag carrier posted a half-yearly net profit of S$134 million (US$104.56 million) on Wednesday (Nov 11), down from S$239 million a year ago.A consensus from Visible Alpha had expected profit to drop further to S$65.3 million.The airline's expenditure rose more than 20 per cent to S$10.73 billion, largely due to a surge of over 90 per cent in fuel costs before hedging. Average jet fuel prices over the six months stood at US$171 per barrel, up 86.7 per cent from the previous year amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, the company said.The softer first-quarter performance also weighed.Meanwhile, Singapore Airlines' share of losses from Air India in the interim period narrowed to S$361.7 million from S$429.5 million a year ago.Total revenue for the first half rose 16.8 per cent to S$11.30 billion from the same period last year.