Intra-day short-selling (IDSS) activities involving AirAsia X Bhd (AAX) have been halted as the stock experienced a substantial decline to its lowest level in almost 10 months.
This occurred following the mid-haul low-cost airline's report of an 82% year-on-year (y-o-y) drop in its fourth-quarter net profit, attributed to increased expenses outpacing revenue growth.
AAX shares plummeted by as much as 23.53% to RM1.30 today, later closing at RM1.50, marking its lowest since May 15 of the previous year and a decrease of 11.76% from the previous close.
The suspension in IDSS for AAX will continue until the next trading session on March 4, 8:30 am.
The airline's Q4FY2023 net profit fell to RM27.37 million from RM153.48 million a year earlier, despite revenue more than doubling to RM818.22 million.
This growth in revenue was driven by a healthy passenger load factor and higher average passenger fare.
However, fuel expenses tripled year-on-year to RM473.15 million, while staff costs and maintenance charges also rose significantly.
For the full fiscal year 2023, AAX reported a net profit of RM366.47 million on revenue of RM2.53 billion.
