Singapore Airlines Q1 profit falls 59 percent as oil price rise bites

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Singapore Airlines Ltd reported on Thursday a 59 percent fall in first-quarter net profit, below analyst expectations, due to a steep rise in the oil price and a lack of one-off items that had boosted profit the prior year.

The carrier, a benchmark for Asia's full-service airline industry, earned S$140 million ($102.89 million) in the three months ended June 30, down from a revised figure of S$338 million a year before, it said in a stock exchange filing.

The prior-year figure was restated due to accounting changes and had included one-off benefits from changes to its frequent flyer programme accounting and compensation for aircraft delivery slots.

Maybank had forecast a core net profit of S$251 million for the first quarter excluding exceptional items. However, an unidentified analyst had expected S$295 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Group revenues fell 0.5 percent to S$3.84 billion during the quarter.

($1 = 1.3607 Singapore dollars)

(Reporting by Jamie Freed; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)