Malaysia's Capital A slips into the red in second quarter

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug. 29 (Xinhua) -- Malaysia-based Capital A, the holding company of low-cost airline AirAsia, has slipped into the red in the second quarter ended June 30, due to unrealized foreign exchange losses and finance and depreciation costs relating to non-operating aircraft costs.

The firm said in a bourse filing on Thursday that it registered a net loss of 454.18 million ringgit (105.35 million U.S. dollars) in the second quarter, as compared to a net profit of 646.28 million ringgit in the same period last year.

The firm's revenue for the quarter, however, surged 54.32 percent year on year to 4.86 billion ringgit, driven by the revival of air travel during the period.

As for the first half, the firm posted a net loss of 545.73 million ringgit, as compared to a net profit of 703.38 million ringgit last year. Its revenue for the period, however, surged 77.87 percent year on year to 10.10 billion ringgit.

"The full aircraft recovery by the airline will have a ripple effect on the entire ecosystem and will strengthen our financial position," the firm chief executive officer Tony Fernandes said in a separate statement, adding that he is confident in the growth and value that Capital A companies will deliver in the coming quarters. ■