Philippines AirAsia IPO seen before end-2018

PHILIPPINES AIRASIA, Inc. is pushing back its planned initial public offering ( IPO) once again.

“We are working on the papers. We hope to do it before the end of the year ( 2018). Around the second semester of next year, hopefully,” Philippines AirAsia CEO Dexter M. Comendador told reporters late Tuesday.

In October, the budget carrier said it is set to conduct its longawaited IPO by mid- 2018. The company expects to raise up to $250 million from the IPO, which will be used mainly for expanding its facilities.

BDO Capital and Investments Corp. was designated as the underwriter for the IPO.

The IPO is part of the plan of AirAsia Group CEO Tony Fernandes to consolidate its Southeast Asian units under one listed holding company. This is seen to create economies of scale and strengthen its position as the primary regional airline.

Philippines AirAsia expects to end the year with P12 billion in revenues, driven by robust passenger volume as more Filipinos travel around the country and abroad.

“We will end at around P12 billion for 2017,” Mr. Comendador said, adding the company expects to more than double this in 2018.

“We started turnaround since late 2016. I hope we get good profits this December. We were able to break even last month.”

In May, the AirAsia Group reported that the Philippine unit posted an operating profit of P400 million in the first quarter of 2017, attributed to a rise in passenger count by 19% and surge in revenues by 41%.

The budget airline also expects 87% passenger load factor next year, as well as increase in capacity by 30- 40% with addition of new aircraft.

“We should end the year 22 planes,” Mr. Comendador said. Its current fleet has 17 aircraft. —