Malaysia's AirAsia X reports wider Q3 loss on higher fuel cost

Malaysia’s AirAsia X reported a sharply wider Q3 net loss on Wednesday, the airline’s second consecutive quarter in the red due to higher fuel prices. Volatile fuel costs have been a significant pressure on the long-haul budget offshoot of AirAsia Group, and analysts expect that will continue to be a challenge for the airline’s expansion plans. The average cost of fuel in the quarter was 40% higher than in the same period a year earlier, the airline said. The airline said in a bourse filing it was working to mitigate the increase by boosting ancillary revenue and capacity. “A new fares structure has been implemented and the company is actively driving up ancillary revenue, which will ultimately improve yields, while Management also remains focused on monitoring operating expenses to achieve better cost efficiencies to offset uncertainty in fuel price,” it said. Group CEO Nadda Buranasiri said the airline also expected provisions for doubtful debts to put short-term pressure on full-year earnings. AirAsia X posted a quarterly loss of 197.5m ringgit ($47.10m), compared with a net loss of 43.3m ringgit in July-September last year. Revenue fell 4.2% to 1.08b ringgit on lower fares. AirAsia X said its average passenger fare reduced 5% compared with a year earlier. <br/>