Malaysia’s Airasia X profit down in Q2 amid weak season

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug. 29 (Xinhua) — Airasia X, Malaysia-based low-cost carrier, has reported lower earnings in the second quarter of 2024 because of a traditionally weaker quarter and without activation of a full 18-aircraft fleet.
The firm said in a bourse filing on Wednesday that its net profit fell 13.01 percent year on year to 4.82 million ringgit (1.11 million U.S. dollars) in the second quarter.
Its revenue for the quarter, however, rose 30.46 percent year on year to 669.14 million ringgit. This reflected sustained demand in core markets as the company ramped up its capacity to 16 aircraft operational.
As for the first half of the year, the airline’s net profit tumbled 74.53 percent year on year to 84.94 million ringgit, while its revenue jumped 48.63 percent year on year to 1.58 billion ringgit.
“We expect our two remaining aircraft to rejoin operations by the second half of the year and this is estimated to deliver further upside to our bottom line, further driven by the appreciation of the Malaysian ringgit and lower jet fuel prices,” Chief Executive Officer Benyamin Ismail said.
According to him, the firm’s network realignment and advancement for the past six months were on track, as it launched Almaty in Kazakhstan and ramped up additional capacity to many key destinations including China. (1 ringgit equals 0.23 U.S. dollars) ■