KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 12): Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd's (MAHB) total network of airports saw a 0.5% year-on-year (y-o-y) growth for October to 10.7 million passenger movements, mainly contributed by international passenger movements.
In a statement, the airport operator said international passenger movements grew 2.2% to 5.1 million passengers during the month, which was mitigated by a 1% decline in domestic passenger movements to 5.6 million.
For the 12 months to October, 132.3 million passenger movements were recorded, up 4.4% from 126.8 million in the previous corresponding period.
MAHB said its Malaysian airports registered a 1.3% decline in y-o-y growth to 7.8 million passenger movements.
The international segment for local airports recorded four million passenger movements, a decline of 0.8% y-o-y, while the domestic segment saw a 1.8% decline to 3.8 million passengers.
"The latent demand for air travel at airports in Malaysia has shown some weakness from September 2018. This is increasingly evident from the declining load factors experienced in both domestic and international sectors.
"The overall performance of passenger movements at Malaysian airports was also partly affected by airlines route restructuring with airlines offering more direct international connectivity from MASB (Malaysia Airports Sdn Bhd) airports, by-passing KLIA," said MAHB.
Meanwhile, passenger movements at its Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen International Airport (SGIA) in Turkey grew 5.6% y-o-y to 2.9 million passengers, as international passenger movements saw double-digit growth of 15.5% while domestic passenger movements increased 0.7%.
The group expects headwinds ahead that may affect its growth momentum, such as higher oil prices, the uncertainty surrounding the trade dispute between US and China, the International Monetary Fund's downward revision of its forecast for global economic growth as well as slower economic growth in Malaysia.
MAHB's share price closed up 7 sen or 0.87% at RM8.10, giving a market capitalisation of RM13.44 billion.