Capital A revenue more than doubles

PETALING JAYA: Capital A Bhd expects a stabilisation in demand as it progresses into the second quarter of 2024 (2Q24).

The aviation group posted its highest ever quarterly revenue in 1Q ended March 31, 2024.

Capital A registered a net loss of RM91.6mil in 1Q24 from a profit of RM57mil in 1Q23. This translates to a loss per share of 2.20 sen.

The current quarter recorded foreign exchange loss of RM370.9mil due to the depreciation of local currencies against the US dollar.

On the other hand, the group’s revenue more than doubled to RM5.2bil in 1Q24 from RM2.5bil previously, underpinned by strong recovery in demand from both domestic and international travel.

In a filing with Bursa Malaysia, Capital A said 89% of its revenue was attributable to the aviation segment while the logistics, digital and other businesses contributed the remaining 11% to the group.

The group said its ongoing aircraft reactivation programme is nearing completion, with only 19 planes left to be reinstated in the second half of 2024 (2H24).

It aims to have 202 operational aircraft by year-end, boosting its capacity to serve the growing demand across its expanding network. In 1Q24, about 20% of its fleet was not in operation.

Moreover, Capital A expects to launch six international routes to capitalise on the anticipated demand growth from China and India’s visa-free programme in the next two quarters.

“We are also committed to intensifying our ancillary offerings, building on the momentum from achieving RM878mil in ancillary income in the first quarter of the year,” it noted.

The group’s fifth short-haul airline, AirAsia Cambodia, was launched in May and is expected to scale up its operation to three aircraft this year.

Meanwhile, Capital A expects healthy growth for its companies like Capital A Aviation Services (Capas), Teleport, Move Digital and Capital A International.

Under Capas, the group said its engineering arm Asia Digital Engineering’s (ADE) new hangar in Kuala Lumpur International Airport is progressing according to schedule, maintaining its operational readiness of the first six lines in 3Q24 and another eight lines in the last quarter.

For 1Q24, Capas reported a total revenue of RM250.9mil, which is mainly derived from ADE and its inflight catering business Santan.

ADE has also expanded its line maintenance services to Cambodia, in tandem with the launch of AirAsia Cambodia.

“This will be followed by the Philippines and Indonesia, which will commence operations by 2Q24 and 2H24, respectively. Santan will continue to ride on the surge in AirAsia’s passenger traffic,” it said.

Earlier this month, Capital A and its appointed advisers said the group is formulating a regularisation plan to address its financial condition.

Listed under Bursa Malaysia’s PN17 category of financially distressed entity in January 2022, the group was granted an extension by Bursa until June 30 to submit its regularisation plan.