Passenger traffic totalled 9.94 million last month, compared with 9.56 million during the same month last year. The year earlier April passenger traffic growth was 4.1 per cent.

Malaysia Airports attributed the slow passenger traffic growth to sluggish domestic travel.

It handled 4.29 million international passengers in May, a 4.4 per cent increase compared with the same month in 2015. Domestic traffic, however, only grew 3.8 per cent to 5.65 million passengers from a year earlier.

Higher arrivals from Northeast Asia and the Middle East helped boost international passenger traffic figures.

Overall, aircraft traffic handled declined 0.7 per cent year-on-year to 87,515 movements, according to a report in Nikkei Asian Review.

Malaysia Airports’ net profit nearly halved in the first three months to RM17 million due a surge in costs and higher taxes, the report said.

Malaysia Airports manages more than three dozen airports in Malaysia and runs India’s Rajiv Gandhi International Airport at Hyderabad and Istanbul’s Sabiha Gokcen International Airport.

The Nikkei Asian Review quoted MIDF Amanah Investment Bank analysts Tay Yow Ken as saying: “We are cautious on Malaysia Airports due to its high costs associated with financing, operating and maintaining both KLIA2 and Istanbul SGIA.” He kept a neutral rating on the stock.

Shares of Malaysia Airports fell 1.9 per cent to RM6.38 on Monday.