AirAsia Group Berhad has reported revenue of RM3.1 billion in the third quarter of 2019, up 18% from RM2.6 billion in the same period last year despite a reduction in lease income.
The double-digit growth in revenue was driven by a 20% year-on-year increase in passengers carried to 13 million. Ancillary revenue also grew by 26% to RM686 million, with traditional airline ancillary revenue up 16% while non-airline ancillary revenue up 72%.
Net operating profit for the group stood at RM2 million, down from RM69 million which the group has said was due to the accounting impact from the restructured aircraft ownership, from owning to leasing aircraft, even though similar cash outflow in either financing method.
Net loss for the period was RM67 million, compared to a net profit of RM804 million in the previous corresponding quarter. This was mainly due to a RM238 million fair value loss on derivatives and a RM112 million foreign exchange loss. By comparison, in the same period last year the company also reported a RM171 million gain on disposal of an associate.
On the airline performance results and outlook for 3Q 2019, AirAsia Group Berhad President (Airlines) Bo Lingam said: “Our focus remains on growing connectivity across our operating markets.
"We firmly increased seat capacity by 22% and ASK by 19% supported by encouraging demand for air travel. Our efforts to gain market dominance continuously bear fruit, as our domestic market share in Indonesia and the Philippines each increased by one percentage point to 3% and 19% respectively.
"The biggest gain in market share among our AOCs was seen in Malaysian domestic market, which was up by three percentage points to 60% this quarter. This was in spite of intense competition in the domestic market, as we saw irrational fare dumping as well as baggage unbundling by competitors. We nonetheless expect to see a reversal of this behaviour in Q4 2019, with our average fares seen higher year-on-year in the upcoming quarter.”