KUALA LUMPUR: AirAsia Bhd's pre-tax profit for the third quarter (Q3) ended Sept 30, 2012, more than doubled to RM259.1 million from RM108.49 million in the same period last year, owing to growth in passenger volume and capacity.

Revenue rose 14 per cent to RM1.23 billion from RM1.08 billion as passenger volume grew nine per cent to 4.75 million and capacity expanded as the number of aircraft operating in Malaysia increased to 59.

"Despite the 10 per cent increase in capacity, demand in terms of seat load factor remained solid at 77 per cent for the quarter," chief executive officer Aireen Omar said in a statement today.

For the nine-month period, the airline's pre-tax profit tripled to RM1.69 billion from RM456.4 million in the same period last year.

Revenue for the period rose to RM3.58 billion from RM3.21 billion previously.

Aireen said the company's cash position remained strong with RM2.2 billion in cash and bank balances and net gearing was further reduced to 1.03 times in the current quarter from 1.10 times in the previous quarter.

On regional development, the airline's affiliate, Thai AirAsia and Indonesia AirAsia also recorded double-digit revenue growth, attributed to higher passenger volume.

Thai AirAsia's revenue in Q3 grew 17 per cent to 4.43 billion Thai baht (RM441.88 million) from the same period last year while passenger volume rose 22 per cent.

Indonesia AirAsia's revenue for Q3 was up 12 per cent to 1.2 trillion Indonesia rupiah from same period last year with passenger volume rising by eight per cent.

On outlook, Aireen is confident that AirAsia will continue to
deliver strong performance in terms of operations and financial results in the fourth quarter.

"The fourth quarter is predominantly our strongest quarter. We will continue to launch more routes and add more frequencies to cater to the high demand," she said.

She said that AirAsia will receive six more aircraft by year-end from European aircraft maker Airbus which will be distributed among the five entities -- Air Asia, AirAsia Thai, AirAsia Indonesia, Philippines' AirAsia and AirAsia Japan -- to support their growth.

The airline is also scheduled to receive its first A320 aircraft with sharklets which will help to reduce cost further as it is about three per cent more fuel efficient than the current model.

Group chief executive officer Tan Sri Dr Tony Fernandes said the company will continue to focus on three core markets -- Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia -- in the near term and believed there is potential growth for Philippines' AirAsia and AirAsia Japan.

To cope with the increasing demand, he said AirAsia is expected to received 266 new aircraft until 2026, adding to the existing 112 aircraft.

"The airline is also in discussions to purchase an additional 100 aircraft to support the rapid growth of AirAsia in Asia," he said. -- BERNAMA