Cebu Pacific gains in trading debut; China Airlines returns to profitability
Cebu Pacific gained in its trading debut in Manila after the carrier completed the nation's largest IPO in five years. Shares in the carrier opened at PHP132 (USD3.06), a 5.6% premium on its issue price, closing up 6.4% at PHP133. The Philippine stock market has risen more than 40% this year, the second best performer in Southeast Asia after Indonesia, and closed at a record high yesterday.
According to Bank of the Philippines Islands: "Cebu Air offers a good play on Philippines tourism and a proxy on consumer spending. At its IPO price, the stock is valued at 13 times estimated earnings, which is cheaper than the overall market."
Shares in Taiwan's largest carrier, China Airlines, slipped 1.4% yesterday despite the carrier reporting a record profit in the third quarter on rising cargo shipments and increased cross-Strait travel. The carrier reported an operating profit of USD402.3 million compared with a loss of USD107.3 million in the previous corresponding period and a net profit of 328.5 million compared with a loss of USD163.2 million. Revenues increased 53.4% to USD3.4 billion outpacing a 30.6% increase in operating profit.
Shares in Skymark Airlines declined 4.3% following a strong week as the Japanese LCC's shares soared on news it more than doubled its net income forecast for the 12 months ended Mar-2010 to JPY5500 million (USD67.8 million) on the back of strong sales.
Shares in Hainan Airlines gained 10.1% upon the release of an investment filing in the Chinese market.
Asia Pacific selected airlines daily share price movements (% change): 26-Oct-2010
Source: Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation, Reuters & Financial Times