AirAsia owner Capital A to publish internal targets to improve transparency

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SEOUL (Reuters) – Malaysia’s Capital A Berhad, owner of budget airline AirAsia, said on Monday it will start to publish internal business targets alongside quarterly results to give investors a better picture of the company’s financial outlook.

Capital A was hard hit by pandemic travel restrictions and classified by Malaysia’s stock exchange as ‘PN17’, or financially distressed. It is seeking to exit PN17 status.

It is also in the process of selling its AirAsia aviation business to long-haul unit AirAsia X Bhd, which it announced a year ago in a move to consolidate long and short-haul operations under a single AirAsia brand.

Capital A companies want “to build investor confidence through consistent and reliable financial disclosures while ensuring that all stakeholders have the necessary information for a fair and reasonable valuation of the company”, it said.

Publication will begin from Wednesday, the investment holding company said.

“With most of the uncertainties that previously impacted our business now behind us, the timing for this move is right,” Group Chief Executive Tony Fernandes said in a statement.

Capital A added that it had made “significant progress” on the AirAsia X Bhd sale, saying all necessary consents are expected by end-February.

In January, it extended the deadline for the disposal by two months to March 24.

AirAsia was founded in 2001 with two aircraft and has since become one of Asia’s largest budget airline operators.

Both Capital A and AirAsia X were given PN17 status, under which they could be delisted from the stock exchange if they fail to stabilise their finances within a set time frame. AirAsia X was removed from the classification in November 2023.

(Writing by Lisa Barrington; Editing by Sonia Cheema)