AirAsia reports $222 million 1Q net profit

AirAsia Berhad posted MYR877m ($222.3m) in Q1 2016 net income, a nearly six-fold increase year-over-year. AirAsia Berhad CEO Aireen Omar said the results were due to a positive momentum driven by low fares and a resulting sustained increase in the number of passengers. Revenue rose 31% year-over-year (YOY) to MYR1.7b, producing an operating profit of RM521.14m, more than doubling AirAsia’s Q1 2015 operating income. Passenger traffic rose 17% YOY to 6.48m passengers in the quarter. AirAsia’s traffic for the quarter was up 26% YOY to 8.56b RPKs; capacity grew 12% YOY to 10.07b ASKs. The airline’s Q1 load factor was 85%, up 10 points YOY. Revenue per available seat-kilometer (RASK) rose 17% compared to the corresponding quarter in 2015, to MYR0.17. “The positive momentum we have seen for our Malaysian operations has continued well into the current quarter. Our improved RASK proved that low fares stimulate the market,” Omar said.<br/>