Kuala Lumpur (dpa) – Malaysia Airlines reported Wednesday a net loss of 2.52 billion ringgit ($848.48 million) in 2011, a reversal from the 237.3 million ringgit net income posted the previous year. Ahmad Jauhari Yahya, chief executive officer of Malaysia's flag carrier, told reporters that in the fourth quarter alone, the airline suffered a net loss of 1.28 billion ringgit. Ahmad said that expenditure in 2011 rose by 21 percent to 16.2 billion ringgit, from 13.41 billion ringgit the previous year, due to a 33 percent rise in fuel costs and 15 percent increase in non-fuel costs. He said the dismal performance underscored the necessity for the airline to immediately take measures to stop the losses, including staff redeployments, increasing productivity and improving cost-control measures. He added that the outlook for 2012 remained bleak due to high fuel costs and weak demand. Last week, Malaysia-based budget carrier Air Asia said its net profit in 2011 had fallen by 47 percent to 564.1 million ringgit, due to high fuel prices. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/rNMFF Tags: Flights, Malaysia, Malaysia Airlines, Profit Section: East Asia, Travel
