MAHB swings back to the black in 4Q after 11 straight quarters of loss

KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 28): Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) has returned to the black with a RM359.14 million net profit for the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2022 (4QFY2022), versus a net loss of RM136.73 million a year earlier, boosted by higher revenue, reduction in utilisation fees and better share of results from joint ventures and associates.

The airport operator had been in the red for 11 consecutive quarters since 1QFY2020.

"After a tumultuous period of uncertainty and challenges, passenger traffic is steadily improving and recovering closer to pre-pandemic levels,” said MAHB managing director Datuk Iskandar Mizal Mahmood in a statement on Tuesday (Feb 28).

The group declared a final dividend of 3.91 sen per share totalling RM64.87 million, with the payment date to be announced later.

The return to profitability was achieved on the back of an 81.89% jump in revenue to RM1 billion, from RM551.34 million in 4QFY2021, in tandem with the significant increase in passenger volumes, driven by further easing of travel protocols and further resumption of airline services and connectivity.

In line with the higher revenue, MAHB registered an increase in cost due to higher user fees payable under the operating agreement and higher revenue share payable under Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen International Airport’s concession.

“Other operational costs moderately increased to meet operational requirements with the increase in passenger traffic. The higher depreciation is in line with passenger traffic increase,” the group said in a Bursa Malaysia filing.

On its operations performance, MAHB said the loss before tax (LBT) for its Malaysia operations narrowed to RM61.1 million, from RM193.7 million in 4QFY2021. Türkiye operations, meanwhile, recorded a profit before tax (PBT) of RM504.4 million, versus a LBT of RM22.3 million a year ago, while Qatar operations posted a higher PBT of RM1.9 million from RM1 million.

The group's share of results from associates recorded profits of RM16.2 million compared with a loss of RM800,000 previously, mainly contributed by profits from MFMA Development Sdn Bhd, KAF and Alibaba KLIA Aeropolis Sdn Bhd.

The share of results of joint ventures totalled RM4.7 million, compared with a RM10.6 million loss a year ago, boosted by profits from Segi Astana Sdn Bhd and Airport Cooling Energy Supply Sdn Bhd.

Helped by the better quarterly results, MAHB also saw a turnaround in its full-year earnings with a net profit of RM187.2 million, compared with a RM766.44 million net loss in FY2021, as revenue jumped 86.91% to RM3.13 billion from RM1.67 billion.

On prospects, MAHB said it is working towards finalising new operating agreements with the government after receiving the Cabinet’s approval on the principal terms in early February.

“[This] will catalyse our development plans and chart our future growth,” said Iskandar Mizal.

“While we actively continue to seek revenue generation opportunities, we will also continue to be prudent in managing our costs to strengthen our financial position,” he said.

In addition, MAHB also received approval-in-principle for its Subang Airport Regeneration Plan from the Cabinet in early February, which will position the Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport in Subang to become a leading city airport and business aviation hub in the Asia Pacific.

The regeneration plan will see the transformation of the Subang airport into an integrated mixed development of a smart city airport together with terminal-linked commercial and high value aerospace industries.

At Tuesday’s (Feb 28) closing, MAHB’s share price was 11 sen or 1.59% lower at RM6.79, giving the group a market capitalisation of RM11.27 billion.