KUALA LUMPUR: There have been no merger talks between AirAsia Bhd and AirAsia X Bhd, says AirAsia group chief executive officer Tan Sri Tony Fernandes, denying a news report that the two firms may merge and become one entity.
“AirAsia’s position is very clear, the board has never discussed this and there is no merger (talks) at all.
“The whole purpose of setting up AirAsia X as a separate company is because we believe it should be separated, and 10 years on, we still believe that.
“Short- and long-haul operations are two very different businesses,” said Fernandes after the company’s general meeting, here, yesterday.
Yesterday, the AirAsia group announced first-quarter revenue of RM2.23 billion, an increase of eight per cent on a like-for-like basis from RM2.07 billion in the same quarter last year, supported by a six per cent rise in passengers carried and a four percentage point improvement in load factor.
Operating profit was at RM391 million, down 16 per cent, from the same quarter last year, mainly due to higher fuel expenses.
“With the start of consolidated accounts combining Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines, we are taking a major step to being recognised as one airline.
“AirAsia as OneAirAsia, sharing a single-cost structure, bringing immense benefits in terms of economies of scale and building a dominant position in the markets we operate in. We hope to include Thai AirAsia in our consolidated accounts beginning the second quarter,” Fernandes said in a statement.
AirAsia Group’s load factor was up four points to 89 per cent in the first quarter. Operations in Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines all reported higher load factors in the period.
The group’s net gearing ratio continues to show improvement quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year, down to 1.22 times at the end of first quarter from 1.33 times as at the end of fourth quarter last year, following the completion of the capital injection exercise in January.
“AirAsia Group is growing fast this year, adding 29 new planes for a total group fleet of 201 aircraft by year-end (127 excluding associates’ aircraft in Thailand, India and Japan).
“This is the most number of aircraft we have added in four years, demonstrating our confidence in the competitive environment in Asia,” he said.