Malaysian budget carrier AirAsia reported a six-fold increase in third quarter net profit, putting it on track for double digit growth over the full year, officials said today.

AirAsia's net profit for the three months to March jumped to RM86.873 million from a re-stated profit of RM14.063 million a year ago, a company statement said.

"We are quite happy with the results. We expect double digit growth for the full year, barring any losses in the fourth quarter," AirAsia's deputy chief executive Kamarudin Meranun told AFP .

"Whether it is high double-digit growth or low, that remains to be seen, but there will be profit growth," he added.

AirAsia's cumulative nine-month pre-tax profit of RM148.1 million already exceeded the full year to June 2006's RM115.517 million pre-tax profit, he noted.

Rising passengers

Kamarudin attributed the strong earnings to a 39 percent increase in passenger numbers in the quarter to 2.160 million compared to the same quarter last year after the airline offered more promotions and added more flights.

"The results indicate the strength of the (low cost) model. We are adding a lot more capacity," Kamarudin said.

AirAsia's revenue for the third quarter rose 53 percent to RM396.179 million, with the average fare at RM171 per passenger compared to RM123 a year ago.

The third quarter net profit also received a substantial boost from a tax adjustment of RM45.125 million.

The airline plans to further raise its capacity by introducing new destinations and raising the frequency of flights to existing routes.

"We'll continue to drive the load, offer more low fares and fill the seats," Kamarudin said.

Apart from Malaysia, AirAsia also has operations in Thailand and Indonesia via units Thai AirAsia Co Ltd and PT Indonesia AirAsia.