Kuala Lumpur: Malaysia-based AirAsia, the region’s biggest budget carrier by fleet size, said yesterday it suffered a loss in the third quarter, bogged down by foreign exchange losses and its Indonesian operations.
AirAsia registered a net loss of 405.72 million ringgit ($95.9m) in the quarter ending September 30.
The company had registered a profit of 5.4m ringgit in the corresponding period of 2014.
Revenue increased by 15 per cent to 1.52 billion ringgit due to an increase in passenger numbers, fuelled in particular by increased demand from Chinese travellers,
AirAsia said.
The discount carrier, in a statement, added that foreign exchange losses were 435.98m ringgit, up from 152.66m
ringgit a year ago.
AirAsia’s flamboyant boss Tony Fernandes, a former record industry executive, remained optimistic for the rest of the year, insisting that in Malaysia, all signs were “pointing towards rational and sustainable growth in the
coming quarters.”
The company’s Indonesian operations, Indonesia AirAsia, (IAA) took a hit with a drop in passengers and revenue fell by 14pc to 1,483.7bn rupiah.
“IAA’s turnaround plan was solid but was affected by new regulations,” Fernandes
said.