Profit at Malaysia's AirAsia hit by higher fuel costs

Malaysian low-cost airline AirAsia reported a 30% drop in its quarterly net profit as higher fuel expenses overshadowed the effects of increased passenger numbers and an improvement in its load factor. Asia's biggest budget airline is expanding and expects to achieve double-digit fleet growth this year to cater for rising demand for cheap travel in Asia. Net profit for Q1 ended March 30 fell to 615.8m ringgit from a year ago while revenue rose 31% to 2.2b ringgit. In January-March, AirAsia carried 9.15m passengers, 6% more year on year and ahead of a 1% rise in seat capacity. The airline posted a load factor - a measure of how full planes are - of 89% for the period, 4 percentage points higher than a year ago. The airline said Thursday that despite revenue growth, net operating profit fell mainly due to the approximately 20% rise in average fuel price from $56 per barrel a year ago to $67 per barrel this quarter. Profit was also hit by a strong US dollar during the quarter.<br/>