AirAsia X recorded a significant improvement in revenue of RM339.3 million in 6Q22 by carrying 337,638 passengers, boosted by the year-end peak travel season. This resulted in the company posting net operating profit of RM149.6 million and net profit of RM153.5 million. The Company has also managed to strengthen its cash position, which stood at RM181.9 million as of December 2022.
On a full financial year basis, the Company reported a revenue of RM878.2 million and a net profit of RM33 billion, predominantly attributable to the return of scheduled passenger flight operations in the second half of 2022 as travel restrictions ease. Driven by the return of demand after a two-year lockdown period, the Company carried a total of 417,195 passengers during the year, with a healthy PLF of 78%.
Discussing the outlook for the Company, AirAsia X CEO Benyamin Ismail said: “ The Company is optimistic of the upward fare trend in the near term as demand for international air travel remains high. While we expect this to somewhat rationalise, we do not foresee the fare trend dropping beyond pre-pandemic levels. We are also in varying degrees of engagement with third-party aircraft lessors for induction of additional aircraft within its fleet. By the year 2024, we expect to have a total of 17 A330s within our fleet, active and operational.”
In terms of associate’s performance, the Company is pleased to announce that AirAsia X Thailand (“TAAX”) posted a revenue of RM264.2 million, with a net profit of RM357.3 million on the back of unrealised forex gain; barring the gain, TAAX’s core net profit would be RM12.8 million. TAAX’s cash position for the period ended December 2022 stood at RM199.3 million.
For the year, TAAX carried a total of 279,707 passengers, with a very high PLF of 88%. Beginning in June 2022, TAAX launched flights to Seoul and ended the year with additions of Tokyo-Narita, Osaka, Sapporo, Sydney and Melbourne within its network.
As of the end of December 2022, AirAsia X’s fleet size stood at 14 A330s, with seven aircraft activated and operational. TAAX’s fleet size for the same period stood at eight A330s, with five aircraft activated and operational.
