SINGAPORE Airlines’ (SIA) chief executive officer Goh Choon Phong earned S$8.1 million – a 20.6 per cent or S$1.4 million increase – in annual remuneration for FY2024, a banner year for the flag carrier whose net profit reached an all-time high.
According to the annual report published on Monday (Jul 1), Goh’s total remuneration package comprised basic salary of S$1.4 million or 18 per cent of his total remuneration, S$2.2 million in bonuses (27 per cent of his total package), and S$4.3 million in SIA shares, with the remaining amount of nearly S$148,000 in benefits.
This came as the airline group posted a record high net profit of S$2.7 billion (up from S$2.2 billion for FY2023) and it rewarded eligible employees at the full-service carrier with almost eight months of profit-sharing bonuses.
In comparison, Goh’s remuneration for FY2023 had included higher bonuses. Total remuneration was S$6.7 million – made up of S$1.1 million in basic salary, S$3 million in bonuses, S$2.5 million in shares and S$146,000 in benefits.
As at the end of FY2024 to March, Goh held some 4.3 million shares in SIA.
Goh’s right-hand men, chief commercial officer Lee Lik Hsin and chief operations officer Tan Kai Ping, each drew a total remuneration of between S$3.5 million and S$3.75 million for FY2024. Each of them was paid between S$2.75 million and S$3 million in FY2023.
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SIA is also rewarding shareholders with a higher proposed final dividend of S$0.38 per share, subject to approval at the annual general meeting on Jul 29. Its shareholders received S$0.28 as final dividend for FY2023.
It reported healthy demand for air travel in the first quarter of FY2025, supported by an uptick in forward bookings to North Asia and South-east Asia. However, passenger yields are expected to moderate as capacity in the sector, especially in the Asia-Pacific region, rises.
SIA reported an increase of 17.9 per cent in carbon dioxide emissions from flight operations as the group ramped up capacity.
Its full service airline and its budget arm Scoot produced about 15 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent of Scope 1 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in flight operations in FY2024, based on its sustainability report also published on Monday.
The group recorded 12.7 million tonnes carbon dioxide equivalent of total Scope 1 GHG emissions for FY2023.
Its Scope 2 GHG emissions from buildings and offices rose 10 per cent year on year to 11,008 tonnes carbon dioxide equivalent in FY2024.
However, in FY2024, it substantially cut the number of tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent with the aid of fuel savings and efficiency measures across SIA and Scoot’s air traffic management, engineering and flight operations. There was a reduction of 117,741 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent compared with a cut of 39,901 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent in FY2023.
In FY2024, 3,218 tonnes of total waste was generated from SIA flights, and 2,100 tonnes of total waste came from SIA-owned buildings, and premises leased by the group’s two airlines in Singapore.
However, the waste that the airline recycled from flight operations amounted to 54.5 tonnes, and 349 tonnes of total waste was recycled from SIA-owned buildings and premises leased by SIA and Scoot in Singapore.
In comparison, 1,971 tonnes of total waste was generated from SIA flights while SIA buildings in Singapore accounted for 1,343 tonnes of total waste in FY2023. However, SIA flights recycled about 300 tonnes of waste and its Singapore buildings recycled 175 tonnes.
SIA and Scoot have pledged to substitute 5 per cent of their total fuel consumption with sustainable aviation fuel by 2030.
The group aims to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050 through operating new generation aircraft, improving operational efficiencies, adopting low-carbon technology, and sourcing for high-quality carbon offsets.
The annual report did not provide updates on the May 21 incident where severe turbulence on a flight resulted in a fatality and multiple injuries, with SIA likely to face questions on this at the upcoming AGM. Chairman Peter Seah said that the group is “committed to supporting all affected passengers and crew members, and we are fully cooperating with the investigations”.
SIA shares closed S$0.02 or 0.3 per cent lower at S$6.88 on Monday.
