AirAsia parent posts narrow loss in Q2 as travel demand rebounds

The logo of AirAsia and airasia Super App under Capital A are seen displayed in this illustration picture taken March 7, 2022. REUTERS/Florence Lo/Illustration

Aug 26 (Reuters) – Capital A Bhd (CAPI.KL), parent of Malaysian budget airline AirAsia, on Friday reported a narrower second-quarter operating loss, as travel demand in Southeast Asia began to rebound after pandemic-related rules eased.

The company said that its future looked positive, driven by momentum in sales and lifting of travel restrictions across the globe.

Capital A said it was taking all measures possible to return its grounded fleet back into service, with an estimate to have 160 operational aircraft by the end of 2022, and full operations by second quarter of 2023.

Capital A posted an operating loss of 491.3 million ringgit ($110.03 million) for the three months ended June 30, compared to a loss of 792.2 million ringgit in the year-ago period.

The company last month reported its airline load factor, a measure of the percentage of seats filled, rose to 84% in the second quarter, akin to pre-pandemic levels.

Passenger numbers rose 633% from a year earlier, supported by growing domestic demand and the resumption of international travel in Southeast Asian countries. Cargo tonnage, however, fell 27% due to extended lockdowns in China.

Capital A has invested heavily in payments firm BigPay, logistics arm Teleport and mobile Super App to diversify its revenue sources.

The company said in June it was evaluating fundraising options for a planned U.S. listing, as it looks to shake off its classification as a financially distressed firm by Malaysia’s stock exchange.

($1 = 4.4650 ringgit)

Reporting by Tejaswi Marthi in Bengaluru and Jamie Freed in Sydney; Editing by Shailesh Kuber

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