According to Nikkei Asian Review, Malaysian-based AirAsia Group will look to generate extra cash by selling some of its non-core assets like Asia Aviation Capital and Asia Aviation Centre of Excellence. The report cites AirAsia Group Chief Executive Officer Tony Fernandes, who said to media in the country that the company is already in talks with several interested parties.
At a company event last Friday, AirAsia Group CEO said:
Every investment business, including loyalty programme is up for sale eventually. We are in discussions on a few.
Fernandes also said on 29th August that AirAsia will continue to seek deals to monetize its non-core assets, generate returns for its shareholders and allot a special biennial dividend.
He elaborated further on this, saying:
We are currently in final negotiations and will materialize the sale of Asia Aviation Capital, our leasing arm before the close of the year.
According to Nikkei Asian Review report, the carrier might sell as much as six out of its seven non-core assets. The company has already announced a 50% sale of its Asia Aviation Centre of Excellence (AACE) for RM420 million ($100 million) to CAE, an aviation company from Canada. In addition, AirAsia is close to selling its aircraft leasing arm Asia Aviation Capital (AAC) and a 25% stake in the online travel booking operator AAE Travel.
Fernandes also added that the airline plans to add an additional 23 aircraft to its fleet in the second half of 2017. According to the CEO, the plan is for AirAsia to have a total of 500 planes in about ten years by adding 30 new aircrafts every year.
Earlier, AirAsia Bhd also revealed that its profit before taxes went for the second quarter of 2017 (ending with 30th June) was RM386.8 million, or 52.4% higher than the same period in the previous year, when the airline recorded a pre-tax profit of RM253.81 million. In addition, the company’s revenue went up 19% year-on-year (YoY) from RM1.99 million in 2Q2016 to RM2.37 million in 2Q2017.
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