Malaysian long-haul budget airline AirAsia X Bhd reported a 260% increase in its quarterly net loss on Thursday, its largest since 2015, due to aircraft disposal and a weak ringgit. The airline said in a bourse statement the loss from disposal of three aircraft weighed on its financial performance for the April-June period. AirAsia X recorded a net loss of 207.1 million ringgit for the second quarter versus a net loss of 57.5 million ringgit a year ago. Revenue shrank 4.5 percent to 1.01 billion ringgit.

The company said it foresaw continuing pressure on the ringgit and operational environment to remain challenging against the global economic backdrop. The ringgit weakened by 1.23% against the US dollar during the quarter under review. AirAsia X also noted a slowdown in tourism, particularly from China and Korea. "Efforts have been made to mitigate this risk by shifting some of future capacity into other core markets," it said. It said the implementation of a departure levy in Malaysia starting September may also impact air travel demand in the seasonally weaker third quarter.

Copyright Reuters, 2019