SpiceJet seeking investors; JAL delisted; PAL narrows net loss
SpiceJet's shares gained 5.5% on Friday, after the company confirmed it is seeking fresh investments to raise USD50-75 million for its future expansion. According to media reports, the LCC is in talks with media baron, Kalanithi Maran, who is reportedly considering investing close to USD100 million in the New Delhi-based airline. In Feb-2010, Dubai's Istithmar sold its 13.4% stake in SpiceJet.
JAL shares delisted
Japan Airlines shares finished their last trading day at just JPY1 (USD 1.00 cent) on the Tokyo Stock Exchange on 19-Feb-2010, prior to the official delistment on 20-Feb-2010. The Tokyo Stock Exchange stated 27.6 million JAL shares changed hands on Friday, but the stock price finished unchanged from the previous day's close. Investors will no longer be able to trade JAL stocks on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, although off-market trading may still occur.
Philippine Airlines narrows net loss in the nine months to Dec-2009; sees long recovery period
In Southeast Asia, Philippine Airlines (PAL) reported a narrowed net loss of USD40 million in the nine months ended Dec-2009 (compared to a net loss of USD300 million in the previous corresponding period), despite a 15% year-on-year reduction in revenue (to USD1.1 billion) and as operating costs decreased 30%. Also in the period, passenger numbers increased 7.3% to 7.0 million, with an average load factor of 73.9% (-2.2 ppts).
PAL President, Jaime Bautista, stated he expects the airline industry to remain weak until at least 2011, due to an ongoing lack of demand, which is putting continued pressure on yields. He added, "we are just waiting for the economy to recover and hopefully one year or two years from now the industry [would] pick up…What the airlines do is to offer attractive fares. If we will not do that, the number of passenger will be low".
Qantas seeing improvement in business demand
Qantas shares gained 0.4%, as CEO, Alan Joyce, in an interview with Sky News Business, stated the carrier is seeing business demand improve, adding that business fares and yields are expected to follow suit.
For all this and more coverage of today's Asia Pacific aviation developments see Asia Pacific Airline Daily.
Asia Pacific selected airlines daily share price movements (% change): 19-Feb-2010
