KUALA LUMPUR, May 29 (Xinhua) -- Malaysia's budget airline AirAsia Group announced Wednesday that its net profit fell 91.59 percent year-on-year to 96.09 million ringgit (about 22.91 million U.S. dollars), dragged mainly by higher maintenance and overhaul cost.
The group said in a statement that its revenue rose to 2.8 billion ringgit in the first quarter as its passengers jumped 18 percent to 12.5 million.
The growth in revenue, however, was offset by the increase of staff costs and user charges. The group also saw its maintenance and overhaul cost rose 64 percent.
Meanwhile, revenue per available seat kilometer for the group went up 3 percent to 15.10 sen in the first quarter, driven by strong demand.
Its cost per available seat kilometer including fuel, however, increased by 8 percent year-on year to 14.57 sen, due to the increase in maintenance and overhaul costs.
Underpinned by capacity expansion, competitive pricing strategy, AirAsia's market share in Malaysia increased by 4 percentage points to 61 percent.
AirAsia Group deputy group Chief Executive Officer Bo Lingam said he expects the group's ASEAN air operator certificates (AOCs) remain on track to turn profitable this year.
"Our strategy remains to gain dominance in the countries we operate in, especially within the ASEAN region," he said.
