Indonesia AirAsia parent widens Q1 loss

The parent company of low-cost carrier Indonesia AirAsia widened its operating loss for Q1, amid a revenue plunge from the coronavirus pandemic. For the three months ended 31 March, AirAsia Indonesia reported an operating loss of Rp685b ($47m). This compares to the Rp353b operating loss it disclosed in 2020. The company saw its quarterly revenue plummet 83% year on year to Rp224b, outpacing a 46% drop in costs, which came in at Rp909b. As with other carriers in the region, passenger revenue was worst-hit, as travel restrictions put a halt on international travel, and dampened domestic travel demand. While costs fell amid reduced flying activity, the company saw an uptick in what it labelled “other operational expenses”, taking a hefty Rp215b charge in foreign exchange losses for the quarter. AirAsia Indonesia ended the quarter with slightly more cash and cash equivalents on hand, at Rp21.3b, compared to Rp18.7b when the year began. However, this was still a small fraction of the cash it had a year ago, when it ended the first quarter of 2020 with Rp134b. <br/>