Hainan Airlines and Jet Airways shares soar; Skymark slumps
Shares in Hainan Airlines gained by the maximum 10% to CNY10.23 yesterday on a day that saw a number of Hainan companies buck a downward slide.
Hainan Expressway Co also surged as did Hainan Zhenghe Industrial Group Co. The growth occurred on news that Hainan Island is poised to become a hub for duty free shopping from 01-Jan-2010. The gains occurred despite Asian markets closing lower Tuesday. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index fell 1% and in China the Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.8%. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index edged down 0.4% to 9694.
Shares in Jet Airways also soared 11.0% yesterday to INR 890.25 touching a 52-week high during the day. The stock topped the gainers in the BSE's 'A' group. Kingfisher shares were also stronger, up 2.1%, on reports that the State Bank of India, the nation's biggest lender, and other banks plan to convert a part of their loans to airlines such as Kingfisher Airline and Air India. Kingfisher's shares have gained 39% this year compared with a 20% advance by the benchmark Bombay Stock Exchange Sensitive Index.
Also gaining yesterday were shares in Cebu Pacific, which strengthened 6.4% despite the Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) dropping 1.2%.
On the other end of the spectrum, shares in Japanese LCC Skymark Airlines plummeted by the daily limit of JPY150 or 15% to JPY793 the steepest drop since March 2005. The company stated it plans to acquire four A380s plus two options for use on international services. See related article: Skymark announces surprise A380 order - first LCC and first Japanese A380 customer
Singapore Airlines released its financial results for the three and six months ended Sep-2010 after the market closed yesterday. Of the 23 analysts tracked by Bloomberg data in the past 12 months, 20 have a "buy" rating, two recommended that investors hold the stock, while one says "sell". The carrier is proposing to pay an interim dividend of SGD 20 cents per share. The carrier's shares gained 0.9% yesterday. Singapore Airlines shares have gained 9.2% since the start of the year, under-performing the 14% rise in the benchmark Singapore index. See related article: Singapore Airlines positive yet cautious about outlook; yields to remain steady; capacity growth
Asia Pacific selected airlines daily share price movements (% change): 09-Nov-2010
Source: Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation, Reuters & Financial Times