KUALA LUMPUR, May 29 -- Capital A, the parent company of Malaysian budget airline AirAsia, slipped into the red in the first quarter of 2024, due to finance cost, depreciation of non-operating aircraft and unrealized foreign exchange losses.

The firm said in a bourse filing on Wednesday that it reported a net loss of 91.55 million ringgit (19.46 million U.S. dollars) in the first quarter, as compared to a net profit of 57.1 million ringgit a year ago.

The firm's revenue for the quarter, however, more than doubled to 5.24 billion ringgit from 2.53 billion ringgit a year earlier, driven by a strong recovery in demand from both domestic and international travels.

Its aviation group chief executive officer Bo Lingam said the firm expects to add nine new aircraft to the fleet through new leases and new deliveries.

"Our plan is to have 204 aircraft in operations by year end, which we will use to extend our reach to new destinations, including the potential of some we have never flown before, enhancing ancillary income and boosting our financial performance in the following quarters," he added. (1 ringgit equals 0.21 U.S. dollars)

  - Xinhua