Budget carrier Philippines Airasia is postponing its plans to go public to 2018, said AirAsia Berhad of Malaysia in a presentation to investors.
Earlier in June, AirAsia Group CEO Tony Fernandes revealed that Philippines AirAsia was planning to hold a US$200 million initial public offering within the second half of 2017.
The capital was aimed to fund its expansion and launch new routes to stand up against flag carrier Philippine Airlines and budget airline Cebu Pacific Air which still dominates the domestic market.
At present. Philippines AirAsia has a market share of about 10 percent in the country.
In its presentation to investors, AirAsia however notes that Philippines AirAsia had continued to show strong load factor and fares. It said the carrier had added 7 new routes and increased frequencies for certain destinations this year.
As such, it said the unit is still going ahead with listing plans in 2018 for further fleet expansion to serve the strong travel demand.
“It is time for Philippines AirAsia to face competition,” said Philippines AirAsia’s CEO Dexter Comendador from a previous interview.
According to the CEO, the company is targeting a revenue of P13 billion (about US$255 million) in 2017, a 20 percent increase from the P10.8 billion booked in 2016.
Founded in 2012, Philippines AirAsia has grown organically and via acquisitions. In 2015, it completed a merger with Zest Airway, giving it access to valuable slots in Philippines’ busiest air gateway Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
This IPO is a result of AirAsia Group own “One AirAsia strategy” to see all of its regional units going public and consolidated under a single company which will also be listed.
With around 400 planes in the group currently, the company is also planning to own a total of 500 planes by 2027.
