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06
Singapore Airlines Annual Report 05/06
CHAIRMAN’S LETTER
TO SHAREHOLDERS
It gives me great pleasure to present
the Singapore Airlines Group 2005-06
Annual Report to shareholders.
The industry faced many challenges
during the year: some were new;
many have tested us before. We
met those challenges, and delivered
another profi table outcome.
We closed the fi nancial year with a
net profi t of $1.241 billion. High fuel
cost was the biggest impediment to
delivering a year-on-year improvement
in earnings.
The Board has reviewed the capital
adequacy of the Group, and are
pleased to recommend a fi nal dividend
of 35 cents, which will bring the total
for the year to 45 cents – up from last
year, when we paid 40 cents.
NETWORK AND FLEET
During the year in review, Singapore
Airlines spread its wings further,
extending the network to Abu Dhabi,
Hyderabad, Karachi, Lahore and
Moscow. In addition, frequencies were
increased to Adelaide, Bangalore,
Beijing, Guangzhou, Ho Chi Minh City,
Hong Kong, Kolkata, Penang, Perth
and Taipei.
Capacity growth was at a measured
pace. This is also the case in the
current fi nancial year as we await the
delivery of new aircraft.
Singapore Airlines will be the focus of
world attention in late 2006, when
we become the First to Fly the new
Airbus A380. Around the same time,
we will also receive the fi rst of our
new Boeing 777-300ERs. Putting
any new aircraft type into service is
complex, and involves hundreds of
staff across all areas of the Group.
Our engineers, fl ight and cabin crews,
ground staff and people in many
other areas are working feverishly to
be ready, and I can assure you that
our customers all over the world will
see and experience a suite of products
and services which will continue our
leadership role at the premium end of
the airline industry.
OUR PEOPLE
The year’s challenges could not
have been managed without the
extraordinary team spirit that exists
in the Singapore Airlines Group. We
are unlike many of our competitors:
we have never had Government
protection from competition, or
underwriting of our business in
diffi cult times. We operate on a
commercial basis and our people
know that our customers have a
choice of airlines. We fi ght hard for
business, and that has made us a
better airline.
Recognising this principle means a
constant focus to ensure our people
are equipped with what they need to
serve our customers – in training and
in physical resources. It means regular
engagement with staff and unions
to ensure they’re as much part of the
future direction of the organisation as
management.
The workplace is changing constantly,
and I am determined to ensure those
changes are well-managed, and our
people well-informed, so that they
can make positive contributions to
the change process. I am heartened
to note that the organisation’s people
and their union leadership willingly
embrace this commitment.