SEPANG: The AirAsia group plans to combine its Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and Philippines operations under a single, listed Asean holding company.
AirAsia Group Chief Executive Officer Tan Sri Tony Fernandes outlined the move as part of its outlook for this year.
“Now that all our Asean airlines are on stable footing, we want to further our plans to combine our Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and Philippines operations under a single, listed Asean holding company.”
He urged Asean governments to relax ownership restrictions and consider Asean investors as equivalent to local investors.
Fernandes said AirAsia Berhad and associate airlines in Thailand, Indonesia and Philippines are now operationally profitable it can confidently press forward with expansion.
“The Group fleet will grow to over 200 aircraft this year and we are rolling out new destinations in Asean and the wider region as well as ramping up flights on our trunk routes.
“To increase the number of possible connections at our LCC Hub@KLIA2, we intend to increase the daily frequency up to 16 routes currently operated sub-daily, giving a boost to our Fly-Thru traffic,” he said.
Fernandes said that as part of its 2017 plans, one of the group’s key goals is to monetise its non-core assets.
“The biggest will be Asia Aviation Capital, our leasing arm, which we believe is worth approximately US$1 billion. We are at the due-diligence stage for this and have been surprised at the interest we are getting.”
He said the group will continue to work towards an IPO for our crew training centre, AirAsia Aviation Centre of Excellence (AACE), and a dual listing for AirAsia Berhad in the Hong Kong or New York stock exchanges.
Fernandes said that AirAsia also plans to take delivery of 12 A320neo aircraft to our Malaysia hubs this year for a total expansion of 8 aircraft after accounting for replacements.
“The fuel savings are as much as 15 per cent per aircraft with the New Engine Option, allowing us offer lower fares for all and to lessen our environmental impact,” he said.
Meanwhile AirAsia group saw its revenue improve by RM1.23 Billion for the Financial year ending Dec 31, 2016. (FY2016).
The AirAsia group, comprising AirAsia Berhad and associate airlines in Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, India and Japan, posted combined revenue of RM12.02 billion for FY2016 compared to RM10.79 billion in the previous financial year.
Operating profit for the group was reported at RM2.15 billion, up 24% from the previous year.
The group in a statement today said AirAsia Berhad, Thai AirAsia and Indonesia AirAsia made a positive contribution to operating profit, with Indonesia AirAsia reporting its first profitable full financial year following the turnaround.
For the fourth quarter of 2016, AirAsia Group reported a consolidated revenue of RM3.24 billion, compared to RM3.38 billion in the same quarter of the previous year. Operating profit for the group was RM552 million for the quarter.
The Group’s profit before tax for the quarter stood at RM355.3 million, while cash and bank balances totaled RM2.97 billion.
Passengers carried the leading low cost airlines also increased by 7 per cent at 14.51million. Load factor was up by 2 ppts at 85 per cent.
AirAsia Bhd also posted a revenue of RM1.94 billion for for the fourth quarter of last year, supported by a 5 per cent year-on-year increase in passengers carried, which totaled 6.76 million for the three-month period.
Operating profit for the quarter stood at RM590.4 million, while net profit was up 13 per cent year-on-year to RM628.5 million, in part due to the recognition of a foreign exchange gain of RM54.1 million.
AirAsia’s Thai outfit - Thai AirAsia posted a revenue of THB7.56 billion in the fourth quarter of last year compared to revenue of RM7.68 billion in same quarter of the previous year.
It’s Indonesian affiliate - Indonesia AirAsia posted revenue of IDR972.0 billion in the fourth quarter of last year. It was 13 per cent lower compared to IDR1,091.5 billion in the same quarter in the previous year.
Philippines Air Asia reported revenue of PHP3.11 billion in the fourth quarter up 36 per cent compared to PHP2.29 billion in the same quarter of 2015 and was due to an increase of 11 per cent year on year increase in passengers carried. It incurred a one-off charge of PHP493.7 million during the quarter resulting from the disposal of the last remaining owned aircraft that was assumed through the acquisition of Zest Airways. Stripped of this non-cash charge PAA delivered a positive operating profit as guided to the market by management.
Fernandes said AirAsia is thrilled to see its investments in Asean beginning to pay off.
“All our Asean airlines, in Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and Philippines were operationally profitable in the fourth quarter. Indonesia AirAsia was in the black for the second consecutive quarter following the turnaround and Philippines was operationally profitable after excluding the one-off charge from disposal of legacy aircraft,” he said.
He adds that the airlines’ Malaysian operations reported a profit (EBIT) margin of 30 per cent. Thai AirAsia managed to pull in revenue consistent with expectations despite less-than-favourable conditions.