The Wall Street Journal
By Gaurav Raghuvanshi
Nov. 28, 2014 6:34 a.m. ET
Malaysian Airline System Bhd. on Friday reported a wider net loss in the third quarter as it prepares to be privatized after losing two aircraft this year, leaving 537 people either dead or missing.
The Malaysian flag carrier reported a net loss of 576 million ringgit (US$170 million) in the July-to-September quarter, compared with a MYR375 million loss in the same period last year.
Revenue from operations of the airline fell 12.1% to MYR3.33 billion. Operating expenses fell 7.6% as falling global crude oil prices helped reduce costs.
Capacity grew 2.0% on year in the quarter but the company suffered a loss in revenue because of the Flight 370 and Flight 17 incidents that spooked passengers and deterred them from flying with Malaysia Airlines, as the airline is branded.
Flight 370 went missing on March 8 while on a routine flight to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur. Nothing is known about the fate of the 239 passengers and crew onboard despite a massive search for the missing plane. Flight 17 crashed while on its way to Kuala Lumpur from Amsterdam on July 17, killing all 298 passengers and crew onboard. Investigators believe that the plane was downed by a surface-to-air missile.
The incidents, coupled with intensified competition resulted in seat load factor, or the proportion of seats filled, falling by 11.5 percentage points on year to 73% in the third quarter, Malaysian Airline System said. Passenger yield, or the revenue per passenger per kilometer, was down 2% on year to MYR0.219, it said.
The company said it would remain focused on increasing its revenue as it waits to be taken private under a revival plan prepared by its majority owner Khazanah Nasional Bhd., the Malaysian state investment firm.
- Source: http://online.wsj.com
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