Capital A Berhad’s Q1 2024 Report Shines Spotlight on AirAsia Berhad and Beyond

Published on April 29, 2024

Capital A Berhad, including its subsidiary AirAsia Berhad, has recently released operational data for its various divisions for the First Quarter of Financial Year 2024. This comprehensive data provides insights into the performance of its aviation, digital, logistics, and aviation services segments. The transparency in sharing this information reflects Capital A Berhad’s commitment to accountability and allows stakeholders to assess the company’s progress and make informed decisions moving forward.

Analyzing the operational data of these key divisions enables investors, analysts, and industry observers to gauge Capital A Berhad’s strengths and areas for improvement. It also helps in understanding market trends, competition dynamics, and potential growth opportunities. By regularly disclosing such information, Capital A Berhad maintains transparency, builds trust with stakeholders, and fosters a culture of data-driven decision-making within the organization.

AIRASIA AVIATION GROUP

The AirAsia Aviation Group comprising AirAsia Malaysia, AirAsia Thailand, AirAsia Indonesia, and AirAsia Philippines (collectively the “Group”) exhibited improved performance in key metrics during the quarter, achieving a system-wide record quarterly load factor of 90%, marking a 1 percentage point (“ppt”) increase Year-on-Year (“YoY”). This solid performance reflects AirAsia’s strategic emphasis on expanding capacity and reconstructing its network. Passenger volume surged 17% YoY to 15.4 million, surpassing the 15% YoY growth in capacity, underscoring sustained robust travel demand across the region, notably during the school holidays and Chinese New Year season in the first quarter. Noteworthy is the robust 94% load factor on China and India routes, exceeding pre-Covid levels due to visa-free travel corridors established at the end of 2023. The airline group operated 167 aircraft as of March.

Passenger recovery reached 84% of pre-Covid levels YoY, with both domestic and international segments growing similarly, while capacity recovery achieved 82% YoY. AirAsia Philippines and Thailand stood out with load factors of 93% each, followed closely by AirAsia Malaysia and Indonesia at 89% and 83%, respectively. To capitalize on this demand surge, the airline Group is prioritizing capacity and network expansion to meet escalating demand.

MOVE DIGITAL

AirAsia MOVE, formerly airasia Superapp, maintained a strong user base exceeding 15 million Monthly Active Users (“MAU”) in 1Q2024, with a 19% YoY growth in MAU.

Travel: A strategic shift towards Business to Consumer (“B2C”) resulted in higher commission and conversion rates. The focus remains on user engagement, app stickiness, and improved conversion rates, positioning as a top-of-mind OTA platform. Within travel, there was an 11% YoY increase in daily bookings for flights from other airlines, a 44% quarter-on-Quarter (“QoQ”) surge in hotel bookings, and increased redemption of AirAsia flights in the Rewards segment.

Ride-hailing: Improved completion rates for airport trips by 6% YoY but faced a 24% lower GBV due to driver shortages during Ramadhan.

AirAsia Rewards and other businesses: 24% YoY GBV growth, driven by increased point redemptions for AirAsia flights during the festive season.

BigPay: Quarterly carded users grew by 12% YoY to 1.5 million.

Payment: Reduced by 23% YoY to focus on profitability.

Remittance: Grew by 19% YoY, mainly domestic transfers due to strong adoption of DuitNow.

Lending: Value of loan disbursements grew 261% YoY.

Marketplace: Maintained stable growth in mobile prepaid top-up transactions.

LOGISTICS

Teleport performed well in its Cargo and Solutions segments, leveraging freighter rotations and partner airlines’ networks to serve cargo and eCommerce customers efficiently.

Cargo segment: Delivered 63,945 tonnes, a 79% YoY increase, with a 5% YoY rise in utilization rate despite a 25% capacity increase.

Solutions segment: Delivered over 15.6 million parcels, a 175% improvement YoY, with daily deliveries averaging 172,000.

AVIATION SERVICES

Asia Digital Engineering (“ADE”): Enjoyed strong growth in MRO services, completing 82% more base maintenance checks YoY.

Santan: Recorded 5.1 million units sold, up 13% YoY.

Ground Team Red (“GTR”): Showed growth in flight handling, passenger handling, and cargo handling, supported by AirAsia’s flight expansion and Teleport freighter additions.