Airlines the world over are reporting a surge in business as tourists go traveling again. Carriers earned a total net profit of $32.4 billion last year, up 18% from the year before, while passenger numbers hit a new high of 4.8 billion.
In Southeast Asia, airlines like VietJet, Thai Airways, and Garuda Indonesia posted double-digit revenue growth last year. But the most impressive performance came not from a carrier, but rather a company that keeps its feet on the ground.
Singapore’s SATS, which provides an array of services including food preparation, air cargo handling and passenger services, tripled its revenue in 2024, lifting the company to No. 93, a jump of 134 places, on this year’s Southeast Asia 500. SATS’s 2024 revenue now stands at $3.8 billion. SATS was the biggest climber on this year’s list, not including newcomers.
Much of SATS’s revenue growth comes after its completed acquisition of Worldwide Flight Services (WFS), a global air cargo logistics provider. SATS bought the company for 1.3 billion euros ($1.5 billion at current exchange rates) in a deal announced in early 2023.
SATS’s acquisition of WFS now makes the Asia-centric company much more of an international player. WFS is the world’s largest cargo handling firm, and is a major player in both Europe and the Americas.
A combined SATS-WFS has a combined reach of more than 215 locations worldwide, covering trade routes responsible for more than half of global air cargo volume.
SATS’s history stems back to the early days of commercial aviation in Singapore, starting as the ground division for Malayan Airlines. That airline later split into Singapore Airlines (SIA) and Malaysian Airline Systems. SIA then established its ground handling business as a separate business in 1972.
Now, SATS is the main air cargo, ground handling and inflight-catering services provider for Singapore’s largest civilian international airport, Changi Airport. SATS has since expanded its footprint throughout Asia, forming joint ventures in markets like mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, the Philippines, and Indonesia.
In its most recent financial report for the quarter ending March 2025, SATS reported a 13% jump in revenue year-on-year to reach 5.8 billion Singapore dollars ($4.53 billion at current exchange rates), driven by a growth in business volume and revenue contributions from its expanded network.
“Our cargo volumes have consistently outperformed IATA’s global growth benchmarks, demonstrating our ability to leverage our expanded network to secure new contracts,” SATS said in its annual report.
The company aims to hit 8 billion Singapore dollars ($6.2 billion) in revenue by the end of its 2029 fiscal year, thanks to a larger network, growth in Asia-Pacific passenger volumes, and Singapore’s role as an aviation hub.