KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 30): Capital A Bhd, formerly AirAsia Group Bhd, posted a wider net loss of RM901.31 million for its third quarter ended Sept 30, 2022 (3QFY2022), compared with RM887 million in the corresponding quarter in FY2021, as the group was impacted by a share of loss from associates and foreign exchange losses.

This was despite the group recording RM1.96 billion revenue for 3QFY2022, more than six times the RM295.89 million it made in 3QFY2021, following the relaxation of travel restrictions, including testing, quarantine and entry requirements.

According to its results filing, besides recording a loss of RM226.8 million from associates, Capital A was also severely affected by forex losses to the tune of RM531.2 million — including 2.89 billion baht (RM360 million) recorded by its associated company Asia Aviation Public Company Ltd — due to the depreciation of local currencies against the US dollar.

Nevertheless, for 3QFY2022, the group reported a positive earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) of RM72.3 million, as compared to a negative Ebitda of RM275.6 million in 3QFY2021, following the reversal of impairment on ROU of RM161.8 million related to operating aircraft, and improvement in the overall performance of its aviation segment.

The aviation segment contributed 86% of the group’s total revenue for 3QFY2022, while 5% came from its logistics business, 5.2% from digital and other businesses, and 4.8% from the engineering segment.

For the first nine months of FY2022 (9MFY2022), Capital A’s net loss expanded to RM2.74 billion from RM2.23 billion in the previous year, though revenue grew to RM4.24 billion from RM1.02 billion, again mainly due to its share of loss from associates and forex losses.

Looking ahead, Capital A said the outlook for the forthcoming year is positive, supported by robust momentum in sales and the lifting of travel restrictions, with the group’s strategy remaining to strengthen its ecosystem of travel, e-commerce, logistics and fintech to achieve long-term sustainable growth.

“Asean market will continue to be our core focus as we are committed to connecting and building tourism in Asean countries,” it added.

“[However,] we remain conscious of jet fuel price and foreign currency impact due to the prolonged depreciation of currencies of Asean countries against the US dollar.

“We are mitigating these risks as the high yield market is expected to still continue, due to strong pent-up demand from revenge travel, as signalled by our strong load factor of 86% in the third quarter of 2022, a rationale competitive landscape and strong take-up rate in ancillary products from the reinstatement of international flights,” it said.

In the meantime, it is also exploring to increase its commercial synergies between airasia Super App and BigPay to offer a more comprehensive and exclusive suite of products to the users "in the not too distant future through leveraging on the strong travel segment and customer base".

"Returning to being one of the world’s lowest airline cost producers, and applying the same low cost mantra to our digital business, we remain committed to deliver positive cash flow generative businesses as we navigate out of the pandemic," it added.

Capital A's share price slipped half a sen to close at 59 sen on Wednesday, giving the group a market capitalisation of RM2.46 billion.