AAX shares down 8.95% after slipping into the red

PETALING JAYA: AirAsia X Bhd's shares fell as much as 8.95% to 30.5 sen at early trade as market resumed trading today, after slipping into the red with a net loss of RM57.46 million for the second quarter (Q2) ended June 30, 2018 against a net profit of RM47.44 million in the previous corresponding period.
At 11.09am, the stock was trading at 31 sen with 17.50 million shares done.
On Thursday, the budget long haul carrier said in a bourse filing that the net losses was due to an increase in average fuel price from US$65 per barrel in Q217 to US$89 per barrel in Q218.
Its revenue, however, rose 1.7% to RM1.05 billion from RM1.04 billion.
During the quarter, cost per available seat km (CASK) increased 3% to 12.96 sen, mainly due to rising average fuel price. CASK ex-fuel reduced 4% from 8.37 sen to 8.04 sen.
AirAsia X said it recognises the challenges posed by the recent hike in fuel prices, and efforts are being made to mitigate this by boosting ancillary revenue and capacity.
"A new fares structure has been implemented and the company is actively pushing ancillary revenue, which will ultimately improve yields, while the management remains focused on monitoring operating expenses to ensure better cost efficiencies to offset higher fuel expenses."
On expansion plan, the group said it is planning to increase fleet size by an additional five aircraft through operating leases in the second half of 2018 in view of growing demand in the Asia Pacific region. The additional aircraft will be deployed to AirAsia X Malaysia and AirAsia X Thailand."