KUALA LUMPUR: AirAsia Group Bhd posted a net loss of RM2.44bil in the fourth quarter ended Dec 31 against RM384.43mil a year ago as its operations were adversely affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The low-cost carrier saw its revenue stood at RM267.43mil, down 91.7% from RM3.22bil previously.
AirAsia said the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic continued to affect its operations adversely.
“While international borders remained closed, the group focused on resuming limited domestic operations in the areas we operate. Lockdowns announced in Malaysia for the month of October and November further dampened sales in the fourth quarter,” it said in the notes accompanying its financial results.
It added that its digital business revenue continues to improve with the launch of Airasia App in October 2020.
For the full financial year ended Dec 31 (FY20), AirAsia posted a net loss of RM5.09bil on revenue of RM3.13bil.
Revenue for the airline business for FY20 saw a 75% drop as compared to 2019 due to Covid 19 pandemic. Capacity reduced by 71%. With active capacity management, load factor was at a relatively healthy level of 74%.
Its airline business reported a negative Ebitda of RM3.23bil as compared to Ebitda of RM1.46bil in 2019.
Excluding the one off adjustments of impairment of right-of-use asset (ROU) and finance lease receivables, receivables, fuel swap losses and the bankruptcy costs borne for AirAsia Japan, FY20 would have reported a negative Ebitda of RM320.7mil.
Its Teleport business was impacted by the decline in cargo capacity caused by regional closing of borders, with revenue falling by 77%. Despite the decline in cargo capacity, Teleport posted a positive Ebitda of RM17.2mil.
AirAsia said the group focused on turning the crisis into an opportunity throughout 2020.
“We accelerated our digital transformation strategy to boost our non-airline contributions to the Group.
“We have also used the downtime to not only set the right foundations and platforms in place as a leaner and optimised airline operation to recover faster than many of our competitors but also will return stronger than ever,” it said.
AirAsia said it had reviewed every aspect of its operations and made great strides in establishing a leaner and more optimised airline operation as it prepared for an expected surge in demand post-pandemic.
“Even if borders remain closed, the group is well-prepared to rely solely on domestic operations alone this year. We remain focused and committed to further strengthen our domestic position at this juncture as we await developments in regards to international air travel,” it said.
“Going forward, we expect to see improved stability in our operations as vaccinations continue to be rolled out in phases across all key markets coupled with better education and testing, alongside strong support for leisure travel bubbles among low risk countries and territories, and the push for global digital health passports,” it added.
AirAsia said the group had completed two tranches of private placement, raising RM336mil.
The private placement, AirAsia said, was part of its overall plans to raise between RM2bil to RM2.5bil in a combination of debt and equity funding to ensure sufficient liquidity for the group.
It has also secured commitments from banks for government guarantee loan under the Danajamin Prihatin Guarantee Scheme and it is in its final stages of terms discussion and finalisation.
“In addition, AirAsia has ongoing deliberations with a number of parties for joint-ventures and collaborations that may result in additional third party investments in specific segments of the group’s business.
“Through these various fundraising exercises that the group is working on, the group foresees it will have sufficient liquidity to sustain the business operations,” AirAsia said.
Source: The Star Online
