Malaysia Airlines posts first monthly profit in years

Tuesday, 08 Apr, 2016 0

Malaysia Airlines says it has posted its first monthly operating profit for several years.

In an interview with the Associated Press, chief executive Christoph Mueller said the carrier made a profit in February and targets a break even date of 2018.

"For a company that lost two billion ringgit just last year, if you are able to break even for a month or so, it means the financial gap between revenue and cost has significantly closed, and that is good news that tells us that we are on the right trajectory," he said.

"Our target is to break even by 2018."

The company was making heavy losses even before it was hit by two damaging air disasters in 2014.

‘The ambition of Malaysia Airlines is to grow again when we can afford growth. If you grow as a loss-making airline, you just increase the losses," Mueller added.

He said revenue has improved and operating costs are down, thanks to low jet fuel prices and reduced labour costs after shedding 6,000 jobs.

The carrier’s focus is on short to medium haul routes in Asia after cutting all long haul routes to Europe except for London.

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