Singapore Air’s Quarterly Net Climbs on Robust Ticket Sales
Singapore Airlines Ltd.’s profit climbed in the third quarter as booming travel demand boosted ticket sales that helped the carrier’s bottom line.
Net income rose 5% from a year earlier to S$659 million ($490 million) in the three months ended Dec. 31, the company said in an exchange filing Tuesday. Revenue rose 5% to an all-time quarterly high of S$5.1 billion. Net fuel costs, after hedging, increased 9.1%.
“The demand for air travel remains healthy,” the carrier said in the statement, referring to the recent and new fiscal quarter, adding that “forward sales continue to be robust.”
In the first nine months of the financial year, net income climbed 35% to S$2.1 billion on revenue of S$14.2 billion, both all-time highs. Singapore Air made as much profit in nine months as it did in the whole prior fiscal year, and it had a record taking back then. Its current performance comfortably puts it on course for new all-time highs.
Singapore Airlines shares are up 12.4% this year.
Singapore Lures Taylor Swift With Grant for Sold-Out March Concerts
Singapore has awarded Taylor Swift a grant to perform in the city-state, government authorities said on Tuesday, acknowledging efforts to persuade the pop superstar to perform on the island - her only stop in Southeast Asia - and the potential boon to the economy from her concerts.
Swift is set to perform six sold-out shows in Singapore early in March.
The tourism board and culture ministry did not disclose the amount of the grant, but in a statement referred to the economic benefits brought by Swift's concerts around the world due to her popularity, and said the ministry had worked with concert promoter AEG Presents to get Swift to perform in Singapore.
"It is likely to generate significant benefits to the Singapore economy, especially to tourism activities such as hospitality, retail, travel and dining, as has happened in other cities in which Taylor Swift has performed," they said.
Jack Ma's Wife Said to Have Bought Three Adjoining Shophouses on Duxton Road
The wife of Alibaba Group co-founder Jack Ma has bought three adjoining shophouses on Duxton Road.
Zhang Ying, a Singapore citizen, paid about S$45 million to S$50 million for 70, 71 and 72 Duxton Road, The Business Times understands. The properties are on commercial-zoned sites with 99-year leasehold tenures starting from September 1988, leaving a balance term of about 63.5 years.
Standing on a total land area of 3,239 square feet (sq ft), the shophouses have three floors and an attic each.
Nurses to Receive up to S$100,000 in Retention Scheme With Payouts Every Four to Six Years
Nurses will receive up to S$100,000 in a new retention scheme, with payouts every four to six years, announced Minister for Health Ong Ye Kung on Tuesday (Feb 20).
This is part of a new retention incentive scheme, or the Award for Nurses’ Grace, Excellence and Loyalty (ANGEL), which will benefit about 29,000 nurses in the public healthcare system.
Under the scheme, each nurse can receive up to S$100,000 over 20 years, or up to the prevailing retirement age, which Singapore intends to raise to 65 by 2030, said Mr Ong.