26 February 2015
AirAsia Bhd's pre-tax profit for its financial year ended Dec 31, 2014 declined to RM22.7 million from RM361.23 million in 2013.
Revenue, however, increased to RM5.42 billion from RM5.11 billion previously, the company said in a filing to Bursa Malaysia today.
The low-cost airline operator in a separate statement attributed the increased revenue to the double-digit growth in both average fare and ancillary income per passenger which increased 31 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y).
The airline, which had 81 aircraft based in Malaysia as at end-2014, said the significant increase in ancillary business contribution to the overall revenue y-o-y also contributed to the significant increase in revenue per available seat kilometre (RASK).
"Net operating profit was down nine per cent y-o-y to RM109.8 million due to higher finance costs relating to bank borrowings as the company took in more aircraft and financing of the new AirAsia headquarters at klia2," it said.
Chief Executive Officer Aireen Omar said the airline's revenue, measured in terms of RASK, was reported at 15.95 sen, an increase of seven per cent y-o-y from 14.88 sen.
"I am happy to say that our average fare is up 13 per cent in 2014 fourth quarter to RM171 which indicates a more rational market and that demand is recovering, which was initially impacted by the aviation incidents and kidnapping cases in Sabah.
"Ancillary has also performed very well compared to the year before with a 31 per cent increase.
"These prove yet again that unlike other airlines, AirAsia has a robust and innovative model that could survive any given situation.
"The move to the new klia2 airport and the bigger facility allowed us to open up more city pairings and in 2014 alone, the AirAsia group recorded 1.52 million fly-thru passengers, an increase of 90 per cent y-o-y," she added.
She said the company's cost, measured in terms of cost per available seat kilometre (CASK), was reported at 13.51 sen, up nine per cent y-o-y mainly due to the increase in depreciation cost with additional aircraft added in AirAsia Bhd's book.
Thai AirAsia posted a revenue of 7.88 billion Thai baht (RM870.86 million) in 2014 fourth quarter, while Indonesia AirAsia posted a y-o-y increase of 11 per cent in revenue to 1,731.63 billion Indonesian rupiah (RM48.25 billion).
On outlook, AirAsia Group Chief Executive Officer Tan Sri Tony Fernandes said in 2015, the airline is focusing on increasing its cash position further, through capacity management and looking at refinancing of older aircraft (through sale and leaseback) as well as sale of vintage aircraft and slots. — BERNAMA
Original Source: bernama.com.my
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