Malaysia's AirAsia Group third-quarter operating profit halves

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysia's flagship budget carrier AirAsia Group Bhd on Thursday posted a 49 percent drop in its operating profit for the third quarter, hurt by higher fuel costs.

Its operating profit was 253 million ringgit ($60.50 million), compared with 494 million ringgit a year earlier.

Its net profit for the quarter, however, soared about 81 percent, largely on a one-off gain from the sale of a business and reversal of deferred tax liabilities.

AirAsia's net profit for the July-September period rose to 915.9 million ringgit, from 505.3 million ringgit a year ago.

Revenue climbed 6.6 percent to 2.61 billion ringgit.

($1 = 4.1820 ringgit)

 

(Reporting by Liz Lee; Editing by Himani Sarkar)