Malaysia Airlines has worst loss since end-2011

Malaysia Airlines reported over the weekend its worst quarterly loss since late 2011, as passenger numbers and yields dropped further after the loss of two jets in separate incidents this year.

In a filing to the stock exchange, Malaysian Airline System Bhd said its third-quarter net loss widened to 576.1 million ringgit ($170.39 million) from 375.4 million ringgit in the same period a year earlier. This is the worst quarterly loss for the airline since October-December 2011.

"Whilst declining fuel prices have helped stem losses in our quarterly result, Malaysia Airlines continues to struggle despite efforts to reduce the financial bleeding," the company said in notes accompanying the filing.

The results are the last for MAS as a public company and underscore the challenges its majority shareholder, state fund Khazanah Nasional Bhd, faces in restructuring the company when it takes it private later this year.

MAS' business was devastated this year by the disappearance of Flight MH370 in March and the shooting down of Flight MH17 over Ukraine in July.

Minority shareholders in MAS earlier this month provided strong support for a $421 million offer by Khazanah to take the carrier private.

Khazanah aims to delist MAS from the Kuala Lumpur stock exchange by the end of the year. This is part of a 6 billion ringgit restructuring.

MAS will also slash one-third of its workforce and is looking for a new chief to replace Ahmad Jauhari Jahya