MAS hedging caused negative 1st quarter results
Filed Under (Business News) by Webmaster on 12-06-2009
Tagged Under : hedging, Mas, results
Malaysia Airline System Bhd (MAS) recorded a net loss of RM695 million in the first quarter of its financial year ending Dec 31 from a net profit of RM120 million in the corresponding period last year, mainly due to losses from fuel hedging contracts.
It posted an operating loss of RM138 million for the quarter from a profit of RM66 million a year ago.
In a filing with Bursa, MAS said the decline was in line with declining trend in global travel and cargo movements resulting from the current economic downturn.
The company’s revenue dropped to RM2.7 billion in the same quarter from RM3.6bil a year earlier.
MAS said the company reported a net loss for the quarter after including a derivative loss of RM557 million.
The company said its derivative loss consists of RM640.2 million in losses from fuel hedging contracts, RM80.5 million gains from foreign currency hedging contracts and a RM2.7 million gain from interest rate hedging contracts.
“The airline industry is being hit by the global credit crisis and the threat of outbreak of the Influenza A (H1N1) virus,” MAS said.
It added that for the second quarter of 2009, demand is expected to remain soft, being the low travel season period
