Net profit for the three months ended June 30 was S$424 million (US$278 million; €204 million) compared with S$575 million (US$378 million; €276 million) a year earlier, the airline said in a statement.

Last year's earnings included a S$223 million (US$147 million; €107 million) gain from the sale of the company's headquarters building in Singapore.

The first-quarter net profit result was higher than the S$400 million (US$263 million; €193 million) average forecast in a Dow Jones Newswires poll of three analysts.

Singapore Airlines, which boasted the highest profit of any airline in the world in the last financial year, said it will continue to benefit from strong passenger bookings.

"Demand for air travel is expected to remain buoyant," the airline said, adding that it has high forward ticket sales in the next quarter, especially in its high-margin premium cabins.

Singapore Airlines expects to receive its first Airbus A380 superjumbo in October, and the delivery of several other models will help boost passenger capacity by about 1 percent over the financial year.

The airline flew a record 4.6 million passengers during the first quarter, up 5.1 percent from a year earlier.

Revenue was up 5.9 percent at S$3.62 billion (US$2.38 billion; €1.74 million), driven by high passenger load factors.

Operating profit - sales minus expenditures - was up 69 percent on year to S$463 million (US$304 million; €222 million).

Fuel costs were down 4.7 percent to S$1.165 billion (US$765 million; €560 million) from S$1.223 billion (US$804 million; €588 million), but SIA said high oil prices remained a burden, with fuel expenditures accounting for 36.9 percent of total costs.

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