BENGALURU (May 15): Singapore Airlines posted its highest-ever annual profit on Wednesday on a rebound in demand for air travel, and said it expects this trend to continue into the first quarter (1Q) of fiscal 2024.

The flag carrier's upbeat results come as the broader aviation industry grapples with supply chain bottlenecks and a more cautious outlook in Asia as China's international travel rebounds from the pandemic at a slower pace than anticipated.

"The demand for air travel remains healthy in the first quarter of FY2024/25, supported by a strong pickup in forward bookings to North Asia and Southeast Asia," it said.

The airline cautioned that passenger yields would likely continue to moderate as airlines bring more capacity online, especially in the Asia-Pacific region.

SIA Group saw a higher demand for air freight from Asia in the second half of the year, as security concerns in the Red Sea region aided a change in mode of transportation.

Passenger load factor — a measure of how many seats are filled on planes — for the group as a whole was 88% for the year, compared with 85.4% in the previous year.

The airline posted a net profit of S$2.68 billion (RM9.35 billion) for the year ended March 31, compared with a previous record S$2.16 billion a year ago, which ended three years of losses.

SIA, which is set to be a 25.1% owner of Air India following a merger of its Vistara joint venture with the Tata Group-controlled airline, said annual revenue rose 7% from a year earlier to S$19.01 billion.

The company proposed a final dividend of 38 Singapore cents per share, up from 28 Singapore cents declared last year.

Singapore Airlines Group operates Singapore Airlines, its flag carrier, and Scoot, its low-cost subsidiary.