KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd’s (MAHB) net loss for the second quarter ended June 30 widened to RM226.09 million from RM91.07 million a year ago.
However, revenue increased 18.8% to RM323.42 million from RM272.18 million over the same period due to higher passenger volumes in Turkey, said the company.
In a filing with Bursa Malaysia today, the firm said overall, its Malaysian operations’ revenue declined by 43.3% to RM125.8 million.
Conversely, revenue from its Turkey operations surged from RM35.1 million in Q2 2020 to RM176.3 million a year on, while its Qatar operations’ revenue jumped from RM15.5 million to RM21.3 million.
For the first half of 2021, the company posted a net loss of RM447.39 million compared with a net loss of RM111.45 million a year ago, while revenue dropped 45.2% to RM660.23 million from RM1.21 billion previously.
MAHB said the performance is in tandem with the 55.4% contraction in passenger movements due to the prolonged movement control order, and continued interstate and international travel restrictions.
The decline in passenger movements saw revenue from its airport operations contracting 49.2% on-year to RM567.3 million in 1H, while the aeronautical segment’s revenue slid 46.0% to RM295.9 million over the same period.
MAHB said revenue from non-airport operations increased slightly by 3.8%, or RM3.4 million, due to higher revenue from agriculture as a result of higher fresh fruit bunch prices, and better project and repair maintenance businesses.
“Overall, Malaysia operations’ revenue fell 67.2% on-year to RM289.2 million in 1H, while Turkey and Qatar operations’ revenues rose by 14.6% to RM328.5 million and 13.6% to RM42.6 million, respectively.”
It noted that its network of airports recorded 12.0 million passengers in the first half of 2021, a contraction of 55.4% from a year ago.
“In the same period, the group’s international and domestic passenger traffic contracted by 72.9% and 41.7% on-year, respectively.
“Correspondingly, the group’s aircraft movements decreased 41.7% on-year, with both international and domestic aircraft movements decreasing 51.0% and 36.4% on-year, respectively.”
Generally, the airport operator said its performance will continue to be affected by the Covid-19 pandemic this year.
It said Malaysia’s high daily vaccination rate provides some optimism on the resumption of domestic traffic, as efforts continue to ramp up inoculations to attain herd immunity.
MAHB said moving forward, it will continue to implement its aggressive cost-optimisation plan.
“This includes recalibrating operational efficiencies, such as rebasing costs and prioritising capital expenditure, to conserve cash reserves and ensure that the group can meet its financial and operational obligations.
“As of June 30, 2021, the group managed to reduce core operational expenses by 13% on-year.” – Bernama, August 23, 2021
