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KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 27 — Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd plunged into a net loss of RM91.06 million in the second quarter of 2020 compared with a net profit of RM160 million previously.
Revenue for the quarter ended June 30, 2020, declined significantly by 78.4 per cent over the corresponding quarter in the prior year to RM272.2 million in tandem with the significant contraction in passenger movements of 96 per cent.
In a filing with Bursa Malaysia, MAHB said the impact of prolonged MCO period and border closures, resulted in a significant decline in airport operations’ revenue by 80 per cent to RM238.7 million.
Revenue from the aeronautical segment decreased by 93.1 per cent to RM45.6 million over the corresponding quarter in the prior year.
Passenger traffic for Malaysia operations contracted by 96.9 per cent (international: -98.4 per cent, domestic: -95.3 per cent) to 0.8 million passengers as compared to 25.8 million passengers recorded in the corresponding quarter in the prior year.
Passenger traffic for Turkey operations contracted by 93.2 per cent (international: -100 per cent, domestic: - 88.9 per cent) to 0.6 million passengers as compared to 8.8 million passengers recorded in the corresponding quarter in the prior year.
Non-aeronautical segment revenue decreased by 63.4 per cent to RM193.1 million as compared to the corresponding quarter in the prior year.
“Revenue from non-airport operations decreased by 51.5 per cent or RM35.6 million due to lower revenue from the project and repair maintenance and hotel businesses.
“Overall, Malaysia and Turkey operations recorded a significant decrease in revenue by 75.5 per cent to RM221.6 million and 89.0 per cent to RM35.1 million respectively,” MAHB said.
For the six months up to June, it posted a net loss of RM111.45 million compared with RM309.65 million in the same period last year, while revenue narrowed to RM1.2 billion compared with RM2.5 billion previously.
Going forward, it said the introduction of the Malaysia-Singapore Reciprocal Green Lane announced by the Foreign Ministers of Malaysia and Singapore on July 14, 2020 is a welcome start for further relaxation of the borders.
Meanwhile, MAHB said it is not letting up on efforts to ensure a safe airport environment for travellers and restoring confidence in air travel.
Recently, Malaysia Airports showcased several technology-enabled measures implemented at KL International Airport “to provide a contactless airport experience”.
The measures include facial recognition, self-check-in and bag-drop, contactless security screening and automated disinfection using ultraviolet (UV).
MAHB said it was continuously benchmarking best practices at other airports around the world.
On the impact of the unprecedented travel restrictions and bans on the aviation industry, MAHB said it took immediate and pre-emptive measures to mitigate the effects and keep the company relatively stable by implementing an aggressive cost optimisation plan.
“The 18-month plan involves recalibrating operational efficiencies, that is, rebasing cost and prioritising capital expenditure to conserve cash reserves and ensure that the Group is able to meet its financial and operational obligations.
“The Group has also started to pare down non-essential operating costs with the aim of lowering it by at least 20 per cent,” it added. — Bernama
