AirAsia X swings into the red in Q2 on high fuel price, plans to add five aircraft in second half

PETALING JAYA: AirAsia X Bhd slipped into the red registering a net loss of RM57.46 million for the second quarter (Q2) ended June 30, 2018 against a net profit of RM47.44 million in the previous corresponding period, dragged by an increase in average fuel price from US$65 per barrel in Q217 to US$89 per barrel in Q218.
Its revenue, however, rose 1.7% to RM1.05 billion from RM1.04 billion.
During the quarter, cost per available seat km (CASK) increased 3% to 12.96 sen, mainly due to rising average fuel price. CASK ex-fuel reduced 4% from 8.37 sen to 8.04 sen.
The low-cost, long-haul carrier AirAsia X said it recognises the challenges posed by the recent hike in fuel prices, and efforts are being made to mitigate this by boosting ancillary revenue and capacity.
"A new fares structure has been implemented and the company is actively pushing ancillary revenue, which will ultimately improve yields, while the management remains focused on monitoring operating expenses to ensure better cost efficiencies to offset higher fuel expenses."
On expansion plan, the group said it is planning to increase fleet size by an additional five aircraft through operating leases in the second half of 2018 in view of growing demand in the Asia Pacific region. The additional aircraft will be deployed to AirAsia X Malaysia and AirAsia X Thailand."
It expects AirAsia X Thailand to remain profitable for the rest of the year. However, the operational environment to remain challenging for AirAsia X Indonesia and the group is currently evaluating available options to ensure the sustainability of the business model.
For the first half of the year, the group incurred a net loss of RM15.96 million against a net profit of RM57.77 million a year ago, while revenue grew 4.6% to RM2.32 billion from RM2.22 billion.
AirAsia X shares was down 1.5% to close at 33.5 sen with 10.61 million shares changing hands.