AirAsia has posted a net profit of $22.5 million in the fourth quarter. Profit for the quarter through December marked a turnaround from $59.3 million net loss in the same three months of last year.

Published: 01 Mar 2010

AirAsia has posted a net profit of $22.5 million in the fourth quarter. Profit for the quarter through December marked a turnaround from $59.3 million net loss in the same three months of last year.

Revenue dipped one percent on-year to $263 million.

For the full year, the carrier reported a profit of $161 million, rebounding from a loss of $147 million in 2008.

“We’ve successfully grown market share in every market we serve,” AirAsia chief executive officer Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes said. “There are early signs that the global economy is stabilising and the benefits are already visible in the aviation industry.”

The group is focusing on yield management and fine-tuning the current network to extract higher yields.

AirAsia opened 12 new routes last year and plans to launch nine more this year to achieve its passenger growth target of 11 percent to 14 percent for 2010, Fernandes said.

The group has entered into a joint venture with VietJet in Vietnam with the goal of launching operations out of that country this year.

Last month, AirAsia announced the acquisition of 30 percent of the issued and paid capital of Vietjet Aviation Joint Stock Company for a sum value of VND180 billion subject to the satisfactory outcome of a financial due diligence exercise on VietJet Aviation.