AirAsia X Bhd logo.
KUALA LUMPUR: AirAsia X Bhd
(AAX), having returned to the black in the fourth quarter of last year, maintained its healthy performance in the first quarter (Q1) of this year with a net profit of RM179.5mil against a loss of RM125.9mil a year earlier.
The long-haul, low-cost affiliate of the AirAsia group achieved the profit on 25.2% higher revenue of RM970.7mil.
Announcing its unaudited Q1 results to Bursa Malaysia on Tuesday, the carrier said yields, as measured by revenue per available seat kilometre (RASK), surged 17% year-on-year (y-o-y), outpacing a 7% y-o-y increase in capacity.
“During the quarter under review, the company posted a notable operating profit of RM105mil which, coupled with a forex (foreign exchange) gain of RM122mil, resulted in a net profit after tax of RM179mil, compared to a loss of RM126mil a year ago. Key contributors to the encouraging results include the progress of the turnaround plan initiated in 2015 and strong return of business from China and Australia markets in Q1 2016,” AAX said in a media statement issued on the same day.
AAX group chief executive officer Datuk Kamarudin Meranun said that in the past one year, the airline had embarked on various turnaround initiatives to strengthen its foundations by addressing our cash liquidity, instituting a more disciplined cost structure and leveraging on its consolidated network.
In the first quarter ended March 31, the China market contributed the highest growth to Malaysia AirAsia X operations.
“Revenue from China increased 49% y-o-y due to higher passenger traffic while average base fare improved 54% y-o-y. We foresee this positive trend to carry through to the second quarter with the implementation of the visa waiver for Chinese tourists visiting Malaysia, and we expect the strong inbound traffic from China to feed into other core markets,” he said.
Kamarudin noted that AAX was expanding its footprint in the Middle East with “exciting route launches” this year.
“In May, we introduced two direct connections to Tehran in Iran from Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok. Tehran has great tourism potential with demand rising with the normalisation of Iran’s trade and economic relations with Asia and Australia,” he said.
“We have seen encouraging forward bookings on both outbound and inbound segments, and we are confident we can stimulate further demand as we are the only low-cost carrier operating direct flights from Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok to Iran.”
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