AirAsia X Fourth Quarter Profit Drops 80 Pct

Malaysia’s AirAsia X reported an 80 percent drop in fourth quarter net profit as foreign exchange losses hit the bottom line.

The long-haul budget carrier saw quarterly net profit drop to MYR39 million ringgit (USD$8.7 million) from MYR197.4 million in the same quarter of 2015. Net operating profit came in at MYR100.6 million, up from MYR75.1 million, before the foreign exchange loss of MYR93.1 million.

Revenue grew 39 percent to MYR1.17 billion ringgit as it carried 40 percent more passengers, 1.38 million, in the quarter to end December, 2016. RPK revenue was also up 40 percent on a capacity increase of 44 percent (ASK), with a resulting load factor drop of 2 percentage points to 81 percent.

Operating expenses increased 27.5 percent in the quarter to MYR1.09 billion, but costs per available seat mile dropped 16 percent excluding fuel, or 11 percent including fuel.

The airline said the increase in operating expenses was mainly due to a 46 percent jump in staff costs, and a 45 percent increase in fuel expenses.

At the end of the quarter AirAsia X operated 30 Airbus A330 aircraft.

In the full year to end December 2016, the airline recorded a net profit of MYR230.5 million, against a MYR349.6 million loss in 2015.