KUALA LUMPUR (July 28): Moody's Investors Service's move to revise its outlook on Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd to negative has taken its toll on the stock today. 

Shares in the airport operator have been under the selling pressure since the failed coup d’état attempt in Turkey against the government on July 15. 

Since the news of the attempted coup broke out, MAHB declined by 66 sen or 10.2% to trade at its three months low of RM5.78 as at 9.55am today as the news spooked investors. 

MAHB closed at RM5.90 yesterday with 1.4 million shares traded. 

Today, the stock was the ninth top loser across the exchange. A total of 103,800 shares were changed hands between RM5.77 and RM5.88. 

At RM5.78, it has a market capitalisation of RM9.78 billion. 

In a statement yesterday, Moody's revised MAHB's outlook to 'negative' from 'stable' to reflect the heightened operating challenges faced by the airport operator's unit in Istanbul.

Nonetheless, Moody's has affirmed MAHB's A3 issuer rating.

Moody's said the change in outlook to negative principally reflects the dismal outlook for MAHB's wholly-owned subsidiary, Sabiha Gokcen International Airport (SGIA), which owns and operates the second largest airport in Istanbul, Turkey.

"We expect SGIA to experience a material decline in passenger traffic growth in the next 12 to 18 months, following the coup attempt that ended on July 16, as well as the terrorist attacks that occurred earlier this year," said Moody's vice president and senior analyst Ray Tay.

"As such, growth in passenger traffic at SGIA could decline to low single-digits for 2016 and potentially 2017; and international travel, in particular, will likely be hit," he said.

Moody's revision came after MAHB told The Edge Financial Daily recently that it remains confident about the growth prospects of ISGA in Turkey this year. 

"ISGA being the fastest-growing airport in Europe for more than five years and consistently recording double-digit passenger growth," the airport operator said, though noting the ongoing political uncertainties and terrorist threats in the country.

“ISGA remains in very close contact with the [Turkish] government and security authorities, and this has played a crucial role in keeping ISGA open throughout the difficult period last week,” MAHB said via email. 

“This close cooperation is to continue as it has proven itself over the last eight years we have been operating in Turkey. Measures were already in place to deal with such eventualities,” the airport operator said.

MAHB said the passenger numbers at ISGA rose 11% to 16 million passengers as at July 21, 2016, compared with one year ago.

An analyst told theedgemarkets.com that the downgrade will definitely affect MAHB's sukuk. 

"We opine that both MAHB's operation in Malaysia and Turkey will remain challenging in the near term," said the analyst. 

He is in the midst of revising his passengers' number forecast this year, as he foresee slower growth amid of these events. 

Nontheless, he said MAHB is still fundamentally strong although the recent events has putting selling pressure on the stock.