Asian equities began the week on a subdued note as high U.S. Treasury yields tested Wall Street's lofty valuations, keeping the U.S. dollar near multi-month highs. Market Performance : MSCI Asia-Pacific Index dipped 0.2% but remains 16% up for the year. Japan’s Nikkei slid 0.9%, still boasting a 20% annual gain. Chinese blue chips rose 0.3%, with most of their 16% yearly gain achieved after Beijing’s September stimulus promises. South Korea's index edged up 0.3% but is down 9% for the year, weighed by political uncertainties and events like Jeju Air’s recent plane crash. Global Futures : EUROSTOXX 50 futures gained 0.1%. U.S. futures saw slight declines, with S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures down 0.1%. Economic Drivers and Concerns U.S. Treasury Yields : Yields on 10-year Treasuries are near eight-month highs at 4.631%, up 75 basis points for the year. Rising yields reflect revised expectations of less restrictive monetary policy, raising concerns about potential impacts on corpo...
The other day, I couldn't contain myself after reading of another huge loss by Malaysia Airlines (MAS) and thus blogged about the problem with MAS, which is mainly down to mismanagement and the lack of serious and fair competition in the country.
Well, my frustration was shared by AirAsia boss, Tony Fernandes, who tweeted, "I wonder if it's fair that Malaysia Airlines can lose so much money and protect its market share. Can only do that with taxpayers money."
I couldn't helped but to agree...while external factors such as the increase of crude oil and other factors could contribute to this, MAS could at least show some improvement, which is hardly reflected on the financial statement and their balance sheet.
A bit of history of MAS could tell us a clearer picture of the direction of the Malaysia airline company.
Prior to the Asian Financial Crisis in 1997
MAS had recorded losses as much as RM260 million. This was after their record breaking profit of RM319 million in the 1996/97 financial year.
In 1998/99:
There were apparent efforts to bring their P&L back into the black. The airline cut its losses from RM700 million in the year 1998/99 to RM259 million.
But in FY2000/01
MAS plunged into further losses, amounting to RM417 million and RM836 million for the FY2001/02. As a result of these losses, the airlines cut many unprofitable routes such as Brussels, Darwin, Honolulu, Madrid and Vancouver.
In the year 2002/03:
The losses were cut and in 2003/04, MAS recorded its highest earning at that time, RM461 million.
In the year 2005:
The airline hit the news for the wrong reason again: a record loss of RM1.3 billion. It was then that Idris Jala was appointed as the CEO of MAS to help solve this serious problem...the Business Turnaround Plan was introduced, identifying issues for the huge loss in 2005.
2007 RECORD PROFIT:
After a series of losses since 2005, the airline posted a record of profit: RM851 million in 2007...but MAS seem to have a tendency to go backwards....
In 2011:
MAS recorded a stunning record loss: RM2.52 billion.
Well, there seem to be a slight improvement before the latest announcement that seems to suggest to us that MAS will continue with its' decline.
VERDICT FROM THE HISTORICAL RECORD:
It is difficult to judge how a company can grow from historical data alone, but a company without a proper management and fair competition is definitely not one that I will look into. Regardless of whether MAS will grow for a short term, my judgement is simple...without a clear direction and fair competition, MAS will continue in its' mismanagement....unless there is a change in that, I'm not going for MAS. What about you?
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