AirAsia profits climb in Q3
Nov 20, 2009
KUALA LUMPUR - BUDGET carrier AirAsia said on Friday its net profits rose in the third quarter, despite a downturn in the aviation sector, due to higher passenger numbers and cost-cutting measures.
Net profits in the three months to September climbed to RM130.07 million (S$53.25million) from a loss of RM465.53 million a year ago. Revenues grew eight percent to RM657.4 million.
'Revenue for the quarter was higher by four per cent to RM740 million supported by 19 per cent passenger growth to 3.8 million,' CEO Tony Fernandes said in a statement.
'AirAsia achieved the feat despite the challenging economic environment that has seen other airlines, including established legacy carriers, reporting losses, grounding aircraft, retrenching staff and reducing capacity,' he added.
For the first half, South-east Asia's biggest low-cost carrier posted a net profit of RM342.3 million compared to RM170.7 million in the same period a year ago.
Mr Fernandes said the carrier's focus on the bottom line paid dividends.
'While fuel remains volatile, we have continued to drive up productivity gains through investments in technology, contain airport and handling costs while the current low interest rate environment helps us to reduce the cost of aircraft financing,' he said.
Mr Fernandes added that 'aggressive and creative marketing' had helped the carrier maintain its high load factor of 75 per cent despite adding more seats and launching five new routes this year. -- AFP
Latest Stories »
