MAHB CUTS NET LOSS TO RM9.04 MLN IN Q3

KUALA LUMPUR,  Nov 29 (Bernama) -- Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd's (MAHB) net loss for the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2022 (Q3 2022) decreased sharply to RM9.04 million versus RM182.32 million due to a jump in passenger volumes which boosted revenue significantly.

Revenue surged 87.2 per cent to RM863.61 million from RM461.33 million amid strong traffic following the easing of travel protocols, summer and school holiday period, hajj season, and further resumption of airline services and connectivity, it said in a filing to Bursa Malaysia.

Overall, Malaysia's operations recorded a significant increase in revenue by 212.2 per cent from RM151.3 million to RM472.4 million, whereas revenue from Türkiye and Qatar operations went up by 27.1 per cent from RM287.9 million to RM365.8 million and 14.9 per cent from RM22.1 million to RM25.4 million respectively.

MAHB said revenue from airport operations soared by 96.5 per cent to RM799.3 million, while aeronautical segment revenue rose from RM233.4 million to RM449.8 million on the back total passenger traffic of 24 million passengers as compared to 9.9 million passengers in the corresponding quarter in the prior year.

Malaysia operations passenger traffic improved significantly to 14.9 million from 1.0 million passengers previously, while Türkiye operations continued to show a recovery in passenger traffic from 8.9 million to 9.1 million passengers during the same period.

The non-aeronautical segment revenue increased from RM173.3 million to RM349.5 million, largely due to better contribution of commercial revenue from Malaysia and Türkiye operations.

Meanwhile, revenue from non-airport operations rose 17.8 per cent from RM54.6 million to RM64.3 million due to higher revenue from project and repair maintenance and hotel businesses.

"Aircraft movements showed increased movements to medium and long-haul flights to Perth, Sydney and Auckland, Southeast Asia, and South Asia destinations, as travel restrictions eased and additional flight frequencies were granted,’’ said the airport operator.

‘’Recently, Kuala Lumpur International Airport saw the return of Kuwait Airways, while two other foreign carriers  -- KLM Royal Dutch Airlines and All Nippon Airways, will resume non-stop flight operations to Amsterdam and Tokyo respectively after temporarily ceasing operations due to the COVID-19 pandemic," it added.

Malaysia Airlines is increasing its flight frequency to Tokyo from November 2022, in anticipation of the surge in travel demand following the reopening of Japan's borders to international travellers, which AirAsia Group is focusing on its medium-haul operations by increasing the Malaysia AirAsia X flights to 44 weekly across 10 routes commencing this month.

Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen International Airport's overall passenger movements also continued to register growth as it recorded a larger share of international to domestic passenger mix in September 2022. 

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has forecast the 2022 global traffic to reach 82.4 per cent of pre-COVID level.

‘’The outlook for the national aviation industry is improving day by day as industry players are working very closely with the government to ensure that Malaysia receives about 10 million international tourists by year-end,’’ MAHB noted.

 -- BERNAMA