Thai AirAsia Reports Q2 and H1 2023 Results

Dark/Light Mode (16/08/23)  Asia Aviation (AAV), the sole shareholder of Thai AirAsia (TAA), has reported a second quarter revenue of THB 10,398.5 million, up 275% year-on-year and a 6% increase on the previous quarter. Gross profit for the quarter was THB 998.2 million, up 143% y-o-y.

The airline has attributed the significantly improved performance to the robust recovery of the tourism industry, bolstered by the reopening of the China market in the first quarter as well as continuous management of expenses.

Whilst earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) increased to THB 1,817.2 million, the depreciating Baht at the end of Q2 meant that the company experienced an unrealised foreign exchange loss and consequently reported a net loss of THB 1,012.5 million for the quarter under review.

Thai AirAsia Airbus A320 reg: HS-BBJ. Picture by Steven Howard of TravelNewsAsia.com

“The operational returns for AAV have continued to be positive, especially in the domestic market where the load factor reached up to 94%,” said Santisuk Klongchaiya, Chief Executive Officer of Asia Aviation and Thai AirAsia. “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.”

For the first half of 2023, AAV achieved a total revenue of THB 19,641.1 million, up 324% on the same period last year. Ancillary services accounted for 19% of revenue from sales and services.

Whilst the company reported a net loss of THB 653.1 million due to unrealised foreign exchange losses, the net loss improved from THB 7,278.5 million during the same period last year.

Seat Capacity has returned to 77% of pre-pandemic levels, with the airline carrying 9.22 million passengers during the period.

The airline maintains its target of carrying 20 million passengers during 2023.

“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 and 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, a growing international route network and are speedily returning aircraft to service from a fleet of 54 aircraft at present, ” added Khun Santisuk.

Thai AirAsia has indicated that it will continue increasing services to China and will also launch routes to Sihanoukville (Cambodia), Kathmandu (Nepal) and Ahmedabad (India) later in the year.

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