KUALA LUMPUR (May 28): Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) posted a net loss of RM221.3 million for the first quarter ended March 31, 2021 (1QFY21), down 68% quarter-on-quarter (q-o-q) from RM685.02 million.

Meanwhile, its revenue increased 28% q-o-q to RM336.91 million from RM263.64 million.

Year-on-year (y-o-y), the group’s net loss surged from RM20.39 million in 4QFY20, while revenue dropped 64% from RM933.84 million, attributed to the significant contraction in passenger movements due to the prolonged Movement Control Order (MCO) and interstate travel ban.

In its filing with the bourse, MAHB said revenue from airport operations fell 67%, while the aeronautical segment posted a 72% decline in turnover.

Passenger traffic for Malaysia fell 91% to 1.7 million passengers versus 18.4 million in the same quarter a year earlier, while international and domestic traffic was down 97% and 85% respectively.

The passenger traffic for its Turkey operations contracted 41% to 4.2 million passengers versus 7.1 million passengers in the previous year.

The non-aeronautical segment revenue contracted 20% to RM1.1 million due to lower revenue from the hotel and project and repair maintenance businesses.

“Overall, Malaysia and Turkey operations had recorded a decrease in revenue by 75.2% to RM163.4 million and 39.5% to RM152.2 million respectively. Qatar operations recorded a slight decrease in revenue from RM22.0 million to RM21.3 million,” said the group.

Meanwhile, the share of results from associates recorded losses of RM800,000, versus profits of RM500,000 in the corresponding quarter, due to higher losses from Alibaba KLIA Aeropolis Sdn Bhd.

The share of results of joint ventures amounted to RM1.4 million in losses, compared to profits of RM3.2 million due to losses from Segi Astana Sdn Bhd, partly mitigated by profits from Airport Cooling Energy Supply Sdn Bhd.

Looking ahead, MAHB said traffic recovery will depend on the efficacy of vaccine roll-out and the extent of travel restrictions of which the Covid-19 spread would be brought under control locally and internationally.

“Digital health travel passes and more synchronised travel procedures across countries may encourage cross border travel and support further travel recovery. Nevertheless, the prime initiator of air travel would be the level of control of the Covid-19 cases,” it said.

In the meantime, in efforts to raise safety standards amid the pandemic, it said the KLIA, Penang, Kota Kinabalu, Kuching Langkawi and Subang airports are currently undergoing the Airport Health Accreditation (AHA) programme by the Airport Council International (ACI).

It also continues to take pre-emptive measures by its aggressive cost optimisation plan, which includes recalibrating operational efficiencies and prioritising capital expenditure to conserve cash reserves and ensure it can meet its financial and operational obligations.

The group had achieved a 22% y-o-y reduction in core operational expenses as at March 31, 2021.

At 12.30pm, MAHB rose one sen or 0.18% to RM5.51, giving a market capitalisation of RM9.14 billion.