Asia Aviation Plc (AAV), listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand as the sole shareholder of Thai AirAsia Co.Ltd (TAA), announced impressive results for the 2nd Quarter of 2023.
The airline recorded Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) of 1,817.2 million. Over the quarter, 4.64 million guests were carried with an 89% load factor achieved.
Thai AirAsia Increased Profits in Q2
This quarter alone, the airline reported total revenue of 10,398.5 million THB, up 275% year-on-year (“YoY”) and 6% from the previous quarter. This means gross profit stood at the quarter was 998.2 million THB, up 143% YoY.
Positive Factors
The airline’s increased profits are due to the recovery of the Thai tourism industry, propelled by the re-opening of China and the new wave of Indian tourists.
This huge influx allows the airline to record impressive profits. EBDIDA increased to 1,817.2 million THB but due to the depreciating Baht at the end of Q2, the company saw an unrealized foreign exchange loss and reported a net loss of (1,012.5) million THB for the quarter.
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Mr. Santisuk Klongchaiya, Chief Executive Officer of Asia Aviation Plc. and Thai AirAsia Co. Ltd. said: “The operational returns for AAV have continued to be positive, especially in the domestic market where the load factor reached up to 94%.”
“Internationally, China has remained a key strategic market in the region even as its economy recovered at a slower pace than forecast during the second quarter while its visa and passport approvals continued to simplify.”
“In Q2 2023, Thai AirAsia increased its services to China to 108 flights per week, up 67 flights a week from Q1.”
“Good sentiment was also seen in the ASEAN and India markets as the company worked closely with the Tourism Authority of Thailand to plot strategies and campaigns to draw more foreign travelers to Thailand and continue to leverage on TAA’s extensive and high-frequency domestic network to boost tourism growth.”
Improvements
AAV has started the first half of 2023 positively with a total revenue of 19,641.1 million THB or in retrospect a 324% increase from the same period of 2022.
Moreover, ancillary services racked up at 19% of revenue from sales and services. Nevertheless, AAV has posted a report of a net loss of 653 million Thai Baht from unrealized foreign exchange losses.
Nevertheless, the net loss improved from (7,278.5) million THB during the same period of 2022.
Increase in Passenger Levels
With financial figures improving comes no passengers due to improvements in passenger traffic.
AAV’s seat capacity has rebounded to 77% of pre-COVID levels, where the airline carried 9.22 million guests during the period.
AAV plans to carry 20 million passengers by year’s end.
The airline CEO further stated: “Operational returns have continued to improve and we have seen a positive EBITDA for three consecutive quarters alongside a healthy cash flow and strong liquidity. We have been working to manage our costs to return to pre-pandemic figures.”
“The second half of the year will offer a crucial opportunity for the company to return to net operational profit for the first time since the pandemic.”
“We have a diverse marketing plan, and a growing international route network and are speedily returning aircraft to service from a fleet of 54 aircraft at present. ”
What’s in store for H2 2023?
Thai AirAsia aims to bring its operations near 2019 levels with increased frequencies within Asia. Namely, China with 128 flights per week, and adding new routes to Sihanoukville (Cambodia), Kathmandu (Nepal), and Ahmedabad (India).
The airline is confident that the Kingdom’s tourism industry will continue to revamp towards the end of 2023, with the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) projecting 25-30 visitors for this year. This will significantly improve the Kingdom’s economy.
2023 will also mark a year of working with public and private stakeholders to champion policies such as the excise tax rate for aviation fuel, which has returned to the pre-pandemic rate.
Thai AirAsia is also concerned with environmental causes and is looking into technologies like the Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) policy.
The carrier is heading towards a brighter year-end with the country’s tourism industry picking up gradually, and more aggressively towards year-end. The airline banks high on the Chinese and the Indian market.
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