AirAsia announces RM639.317 mln pre-tax profit
February 26, 2010, Friday
KUALA LUMPUR: AirAsia Bhd announced a pre-tax profit of RM639.317 million for the year ended Dec 31, 2009, a turnaround from a pre-tax loss of RM869.198 million in 2008.In contrast to the aviation industry gloom, AirAsia Group CEO Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes said the budget airlines’ revenue for the year was higher by 11.5 per cent to RM3.179 billion against RM2.851 billion previously.
In a statement, AirAsia said its passenger growth registered a healthy 21 per cent increase to 14.2 million in the Malaysian operations.
The combined Malaysian, Thailand and Indonesian operations carried 24 per cent more passengers, totalling 22.7 million, it said.
Fernandes said: “We have successfully grown our market share in every market we served, opened up four new bases (Penang, Bandung, Phuket and Surabaya), launched new routes and amassed RM748 million cash in the balance sheet as a bulwark against any contingencies that may arise.”
On the operations in Thailand, Fernandes said AirAsia Thailand has captured a substantial market share and delivered a core operating profit of Baht 334 million (RM34.1 million). — Bernama
