Malaysia Airlines faces a feisty annual meeting this week as its board attempts to explain its poor performance to shareholders.
MAS has made losses in four of the last 10 years and in the latest annual report, chairman Tan Sri Md Nor Yusof said, "difficult as it is for me to write this letter to shareholders, it will be many times harder to deliver the turnaround".
Among the challenges listed by the chairman are reviving broken spirits and rebuilding morale, combating wastage and plugging leakages, repairing balance sheets and shoring up capital, and managing cultural renewal and change.
MAS, which is likely to announce cuts to its workforce this week, made a record loss in 2011 but is aiming to be profitable by 2014.
Md Nor told The Edge newswire in Kuala Lumpur that efforts to turn around the national carrier were subject to several key factors. "A few of which are not exactly under our control."
The MAS annual meeting is on Thursday.
by Ian Jarrett
