Ancillary income boost for AirAsia

21 November 2009

KUALA LUMPUR: AirAsia Bhd reported a net profit of RM130.1mil for the three months ended Sept 30 on a 4.5% growth in revenue to RM739.7mil against RM707.9mil a year ago.

“The growth in revenue was attributed to higher ancillary income and other operating income,” it said.

The carrier’s core operating profit was RM34mil, a reversal from a loss of RM82mil in the previous corresponding period. In addition, the ringgit’s strengthening against the US dollar resulted in a translation gain of RM102mil during the quarter.

It recorded a pre-tax profit of RM136.3mil from a pre-tax loss of RM504.3mil and earnings per share climbed to 5.3 sen from a loss per share of 19.6 sen before.

AirAsia’s passenger volume grew 19% to 3.6 million from 3 million a year ago. Its average fare was lower at RM142 while load factor remained at 75%.

For the nine months ended Sept 30, AirAsia’s net profit rose to RM472.4mil, or 19.2 sen per share. Revenue was up 18.1% to RM2.3bil from RM1.9bil previously. Its core operating profit was RM328mil for the nine months against a loss of RM35.3mil a year ago.

“The group unwound fuel hedges in the second quarter ended June 30 at a cost of RM6mil. The ringgit strengthened against the US dollar and this resulted in a translation gain of RM24mil during the period,” it said, adding that AirAsia also registered a gain in the non-recurring items related to the disposal of assets during the period.

The carrier said its net cashflow was RM296mil, an increase of RM285mil against the preceding quarter. “The significant increase in net cashflow stems from the group’s capital raising exercise which raised net proceeds of RM505mil,” it said.

Meanwhile, the group’s total debt as at Sept 30 stood at RM7.2bil. Its net debt after offsetting the cash balances amounted to RM6.7bil, translating to a net gearing of 2.6 times.

The Star