Malaysia Airlines (MAS) has posted a net profit of 490 million ringgit ($144 million) in 2009, as it returned to profit in its last fiscal quarter.
The airline posted a net profit of 490 million ringgit for the year ended 31 December 2009, compared with a net profit of 244 million ringgit a year earlier.
For its last fiscal quarter, MAS posted a net profit of 610 million ringgit, up from a net profit of 46 million ringgit a year ago.
The carrier posted a net loss of 300 million ringgit in its fiscal third quarter ending 30 September 2009.
"We have been resilient in the face of adversity as shown by our modest fourth quarter profit. We have focused on bringing in the sales, and proactively reducing capacity to cope with the fall in demand in building strategic partnerships," says MAS managing director and CEO Azmil Zahruddin.
The airline's revenue increased 14.4% to 3.3 billion ringgit in its last quarter, while expenditure fell 13% to 3.3 billion ringgit, says MAS.
Operating costs in the quarter fell 13% due to lower fuel prices, while the cargo business saw a rebound with a 7% increase in revenue, adds the airline.
In terms of passenger traffic, RPKs rose 12%. The airline carried 3.4 million passengers, the highest ever number since 2008, says MAS.
The passenger load factor rose 11.2 percentage points to 76.5%, it adds.
"For 2010, we are positioning ourselves to capture the growth in light of signs of recovery. One of the ways we are doing this is through the modernisation of our fleet and expanding our network - timely in the context of expected growth in the Asia Pacific region," says Azmil.
MAS expects to receive three Boeing 737-800s this year, and plans to increase flight frequencies to Jakarta, Bangkok, Saigon and Bangalore from 28 March.
It will also add flights on routes to Perth, Auckland, Paris and Johannesburg and commence direct flights to Brisbane, says MAS.
The airline's cargo arm, MASkargo, expects to grow capacity by more than 10% in 2010 as cargo demand rebounds, adds Azmil.
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news
