Tiger Airways' expenses soar a whopping 37.7% to $57m

But at least loss after tax declined.

According to a release, group loss after tax for the quarter narrowed to $18 million from the $50 million recorded in the previous corresponding quarter (2Q FY11-12).

This was underpinned by profits achieved by Tiger Singapore as compared to a loss in 2Q FY11-12, and reduced losses from Tiger Australia.

Revenue for the quarter rebounded 78.9% to $197 million from the low base of $110 million in 2Q FY11-12, which coincided with the six-week suspension of Tiger Australia’s operations.

The improvement was a result of increased capacity (+42.1%), stronger yield (+21.2%) and higher passenger load factor (+2.9 percentage points to 82.9%).

Total expenses in 2Q FY12-13 increased by 37.7% year-on-year, or $57 million, in line with the higher traffic volume. For the half year ended 30 September 2012, Group loss after tax narrowed to $32 million from the $70 million recorded in the same period last year.

Tiger Australia trimmed its operating losses from $27 million in 2Q FY11-12 to $20 million in 2Q FY12-13 as services were reinstated. Revenue grew by $53 million to $62 million in 2Q FY12-13.

Passenger traffic was up seven-fold year-on-year. Total expenses went up by $46 million to $82 million as capacity increased by six-fold compared to the previous year.

Tiger Australia was operating at a significantly reduced capacity and on a limited schedule last year.
Tiger Singapore turned in an operating profit of $5 million for the quarter, compared to a loss of $12 million in 2Q FY11-12.

Passenger traffic grew by 11.8% year-on-year. The large unplanned capacity during 2H FY11-12, caused by diversion of surplus aircraft from Tiger Australia, has been
well absorbed. Passenger load factor increased 1.2 percentage points to 82.1%.

Mandala currently operates a fleet of three aircraft with plans to commence operations on its fourth A320 on new domestic and international routes this December, while SEAir currently operates a fleet of five aircraft. New routes will be progressively added to SEAir’s network, which now covers four international and one domestic route out of Clark, and seven domestic routes out of Manila.