KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 25 — Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) narrows its net loss to RM58.15 million in the second quarter (Q2) from RM226.09 million a year ago driven by the increase in revenue of RM366.3 million, albeit increase in depreciation in line with traffic and higher finance cost.
Revenue for the quarter ended June 30, 2022 stood at RM689.75 million as compared with RM323.41 million posted for the same quarter last year, MAHB said in a filing with Bursa Malaysia today.
Other cost increased primarily due to the increase in user fees payable under the operating agreement and other revenue share payables to the concessionaire in line with the increase in revenue.
For the first half of the year, net loss declined to RM162.9 million from RM447.39 million before while revenue spiked to RM1.26 million from RM660.32 million posted for the corresponding period in 2021.
The airport operator said MAHB’s network of airports recorded 34.1 million passengers in the current period under review from January 1, 2022 to June 30, 2022, a three-fold increase over the corresponding period in the prior year and 50 per cent recovery of pre-Covid-19 volume.
During the same period, the MAHB’s traffic for international and domestic passengers increased by 7.5 million and 14.6 million passengers respectively.
International passenger movements at both Malaysia and Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen International Airport (ISGIA) continued to show improving trends in the first half of this year, consistently recording higher passenger volumes each month respectively.
Correspondingly, the MAHB’s aircraft movements improved substantially by 112.2 per cent with both international and domestic aircraft movements increasing by 93.7 per cent and 120.3 per cent respectively.
The Airport Council International (ACI) forecasted 2022 passenger traffic for the global and Asia Pacific at 77 per cent and 62 per cent of pre-Covid levels respectively.
According to ACI, a jump in global air travel demand is expected in the second half of 2022 as many countries are taking steps towards the return of certain normality, lifting almost all health measures and travel restrictions.
MAHB is pivoting towards a propensity for growth, making concerted efforts in seeking out revenue generation and actively unlocking untapped opportunities to strengthen its financial position.
In addition, MAHB continued to take pre-emptive measures in implementing cost optimisation plan as well as continue its cash conservation measures.
“These measures include recalibrating operational efficiencies i.e. rebasing cost, operational process flow review and prioritising capital expenditure to conserve cash reserves to ensure that the group is able to meet its financial and operational obligations,” it added. — Bernama
