Malaysia’s AirAsia reports first-quarter loss as virus hits demand

AirAsia Group Monday reported a Q1 loss, battered by a collapse in air travel demand resulting from the coronavirus pandemic, as well as losses on a fuel hedges settlement. AirAsia reported a net loss of 803.3m ringgit ($187.91m) for the three-month period ended March, from 96.1m ringgit net profit in the year-ago period. This was the company's biggest Q1 loss since it listed on the Malaysian bourse in November 2004, based on Refinitiv data. Revenue was 15% lower at 2.31b ringgit. Passengers carried during the quarter fell 22% to 9.85m, while the passenger load factor - a measure of how full planes are - dropped 11 basis points to 77%. Cost per unit rose 36%. The group also said fair value losses on derivatives, as well as additional depreciation and interest on operating lease aircraft had also impacted earnings. AirAsia said demand had been positive since the carrier gradually restarted domestic routes after grounding most of its fleet in March due to movement restrictions to contain the coronavirus. "We are aiming to increase our flight frequencies to around 50% of our pre-COVID operations and we look forward to resuming all domestic routes in the coming weeks and months," President for the group's airlines business Bo Lingam said.<br/>