AirAsia has reported a six-fold increase in second-quarter net profit, despite a ‘challenging’ market.
Net profit climbed to 367.2 million ringgit ($115 million), up from 58.3 million ringgit in the same period last year.
The jump was mainly due to foreign exchange gains, but the airline also managed to grow revenue by 5% to 1.31 billion ringgit as passenger numbers increased slightly.
AirAsia CEO Aireen Omar said the performance was also partly down to a decision to cut down on less profitable flights.
"AirAsia continues to be disciplined in an industry where irrational competition exists," she said in a statement.’¨’¨
Founder and boss Tony Fernandes said the second half outlook should improve and predicted that competitors would move to more ‘realistic’ pricing.
Earlier this week, he dismissed reports that AirAsia was weighing up a bid for struggling Japanese carrier Skymark Airlines.
"Never seen such rubbish, AirAsia has no interest in Skymark in Japan," he tweeted.
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