Revenue dipped 63.9% to RM336.91 million from RM933.84 million previously, in tandem with the significant 76.9% contraction in passenger movements due to the prolonged movement control order (MCO) and interstate travel ban, the airports’ operator said in a filing with Bursa Malaysia today.

“For the quarter under review, revenue from airport operations and aeronautical segment each decreased by 66.7% and 71.6% to RM291.9 million and RM142.6 million respectively.

“Passenger traffic for the Malaysian operations contracted significantly to 1.7 million passengers in Q1 FY2021 against 18.4 million passengers recorded in Q1 FY2020,” it said.

MAHB said the passenger traffic for its Turkey operations contracted by 40.8% (international -55.6% and domestic -31.8%) to 4.2 million passengers from 7.1 million passengers recorded in Q1 FY2020.

“The non-aeronautical segment decreased by 60.2% year-on-year (y-o-y) to RM149.3 million, largely due to lower duty-free revenue and lower commercial rental revenue, impacted by a sharp contraction in international passengers.

“Revenue from the non-airport operations decreased by 19.8% y-o-y or RM11.1 million due to lower revenue from hotels and projects and repair maintenance businesses,” it added.

MAHB said overall, revenue from its Malaysia and Turkey operations had significantly decreased by 75.2% to RM163.4 million and 39.5% to RM152.2 million respectively, while its Qatar operations posted a slight decrease in revenue from RM22.0 million to RM21.3 million.

On its outlook, MAHB said traffic recovery would continue to rely on the efficacy of the vaccine rollout and the extent of travel restrictions.

It said digital health travel passes and more synchronised travel procedures across countries may encourage cross-border travel and support further travel recovery.

“Nevertheless, the prime initiator of air travel would be the level of control of Covid-19 cases,” it said.

In the meantime, MAHB will continue to take pre-emptive measures to mitigate its impact by implementing an aggressive cost optimisation plan, it said.

“These measures include recalibrating operational efficiencies — rebasing cost and prioritising capital expenditure — to conserve cash reserves and ensure the group is able to meet its financial and operational obligations.

“As at March 31, 2021, the group had achieved a reduction of 22% in core operational expenses as compared with Q1 FY2020,” added MAHB.