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Forex-rate changes, higher costs result in losses for AirAsia

Malaysia-based AirAsia's net profit for the quarter ending March 31 was 149.3 million ($40.8 million) while revenue dipped 0.4 percent to 1.30 billion ringgit

Budget carrier AirAsia reported a wider fourth-quarter net loss of 429 million ringgit ($120 million) on Thursday, blaming exchange-rate changes and finance costs related to aircraft purchases. But the airline group, which suffered a jolt with the crash in late December of a jet operated by its Indonesian unit, said its overall business remained healthy, with revenue up 16 percent to 1.5 billion ringgit and operating profit climbing 12 percent. Flight QZ8501 was operated by Indonesia AirAsia -- the group's Jakarta-based affiliate -- and crashed into the Java Sea on December 28 en route to Singapore from the Indonesian city of Surabaya, with 162 aboard. AirAsia's CEO Aireen Omar said in a statement that the company needed to have a lean operation without compromising safety, describing 2015 as a year for "cleaning up". "I will be focussing on making sure that the company improves its efficiency, manages its resources well, drives revenue up and (is) disciplined in maintaining our low-cost model to take advantage of a better competitive environment and lower fuel price," she said. The Malaysia-based airline's boss Tony Fernandes described 2014 as a tough year but expressed confidence the airline would be able to ride out the turbulence. Loss-making AirAsia X, the long-haul arm of AirAsia, saw its shares plunge to its lowest levels on Tuesday. It had shuffled its leadership last month in a bid to try and turn things around for the company. It recently also announced plans to fly to more exotic routes such as Hawaii and to cut back on destinations that have become stale to travellers.