Malaysia Airlines returns to profit in fourth quarter

Malaysia Airlines said Monday it returned to profit in the fourth quarter due to lower operation and fuel costs, as well as a rebound in its cargo business.
Net profits stood at 610 million ringgit (179 million dollars) in the three months to the end of December, the state-owned carrier said in a statement.
Malaysia Airlines sank into the red in the third quarter, down 299.6 million ringgit due to fuel-hedging losses.
"We have been resilient in the face of adversity as shown by our modest Q4 net profit," managing director and chief executive Azmil Zahruddin said in a statement.
"We have focused on bringing in the sales, proactively reducing capacity to cope with the fall in demand and building strategic partnerships," he added.
For the full year, the carrier reported a net profit of 490 million ringgit -- up from 244 million ringgit a year ago -- thanks to fuel-hedging gains of 1.15 billion ringgit despite suffering two quarters of losses.
Azmil said the carrier will increase new destinations and capitalise on its expected growth by adding frequencies to key destinations such as Jakarta, Bangkok, Saigon and Bangalore from March.
"When our new aircraft come in, we'll be able to progressively increase capacity." The cost advantages in operating the new aircraft "works in our favour," the chief executive said.
In December, Malaysia Airlines announced plans to buy up to 25 Airbus A330-300 wide-body aircraft worth five billion dollars.