KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 21- Malaysia Airlines (MAS) has registered an operating profit of RM8 million for the second quarter ended June 30, 2013, from an operating loss of RM102 million in the same quarter last year.
For the second quarter, the national carrier was able to pare down net losses further by a significant 50 per cent to RM176 million from RM349 million last year.
MAS attributed the improved results to the strong growth in revenue and the focus on productivity and cost control.
The airline flew 4.2 million passengers for the quarter, a significant 29 per cent increase from 3.3 million passengers in the same quarter last year, while group revenue was RM3.7 billion.
MAS said group expenditure was at RM3.8 billion, with the major components being jet fuel costs (37 per cent), followed by handling and landing costs, as well as depreciation.
Group Chief Executive Officer Ahmad Jauhari Yahya said the airline was making good progress to pare down losses with the many initiatives to drive revenue, manage costs and improve productivity.
“We remain on track with our business plan to turnaround our group and build sustainable profit by end-2014.
“With more new aircraft, we are carrying an average of 10,000 more passengers daily. We are expanding our network, increasing frequencies and are gaining market share,” he said.
Going forward, Ahmad Jauhari expects the rest of 2013 to be encouraging and the arrival of more new aircraft until year-end will further improve its average fleet age and product offering.
As at end-June, MAS had 146 aircraft in its fleet and the expected delivery of more new aircraft (6 B738, 2 A333 and 3 ATR72-600) in the second half of this year would add towards bringing down the average age of its fleet to 5.4 years by year-end.
– BERNAMA
