Singapore Airlines Cargo carried 946,700 tonnes of cargo and mail from April through to December 2016, a year-on-year increase of 7.94%, according to statistics for the third quarter of the financial year released by the SIA Group.

Gross capacity grew by 5.47% and the load factor went up one percentage point to 63.1%.

SIA Cargo made an operating profit of S$8 million (US$5.64 million) in the last nine months of 2016, compared to a loss of S$10 million (US$7.05 million) in the same period in 2015.

Group net profit fell by 14.0% to S$499 million (US$352 million).

SIA Cargo made an operating profit of S$53 million (US$37.3 million) in the third quarter of the financial year, its best third-quarter performance in nine years.

During the year, SIA Cargo returned a Boeing 747-400F to its lessor, ending 2016 with eight 747-400Fs. Singapore Airlines took delivery of five Airbus A350-900s.

Loads and yields for the cargo business will continue to be under pressure in 2017 because of tepid economic conditions, geopolitical concerns, overcapacity and aggressive competition, according to Singapore Airlines.