Malaysian Air Reports Loss on Jet Fuel Costs, Stronger Ringgit

Malaysian Airline System Bhd., which will be removed from the MSCI Malaysia Index at the end of this month, slumped to a first-quarter loss due to higher fuel costs and a stronger ringgit.

It reported a net loss of 242.3 million ringgit ($79 million), or 7.25 sen per share, in the three months ended March 31, compared with a profit of 310.1 million ringgit, or 10.64 sen, a year earlier, the national carrier said in an exchange filing late yesterday. Revenue fell 3.3 percent to 3.19 billion ringgit even as it carried 10 percent more passengers over the period from a year ago, it said.