KUALA LUMPUR: Oneworld member Malaysia Airlines plans to launch an initial public offering (IPO) in 2019 as it makes progress toward profitability.
Over the past few years Malaysia Airlines has undergone a serious of setbacks, including two aircraft accidents in rapid succession.
In March 2014, MH370, a Boeing 777-200 with 239 passengers and crew, disappeared over the Indian Ocean while on a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. Four months later, in July, MH17, also a 777-200, was shot down over Ukraine by a surface-to-air missile while on a scheduled flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur. All 298 onboard were killed.
The assets of the old Malaysia Airline System (MAS) were bought by Malaysian sovereign wealth fund Khazanah in 2014. Trading in MAS shares was suspended Dec. 15, 2014, and the company was delisted, to be replaced by a newly created Malaysia Airline Berhad.
“Malaysia Airlines is on track to breakeven by 2017 and will likely be profitable in 2018. We are aiming to get back on the public markets with a listing in in the first quarter of 2019,” Malaysia Airlines CEO Peter Bellew said, speaking at a recent conference in Singapore.
At the second-quarter results release in September, Malaysia Airlines and Malaysia Aviation Group said the group expects to post a loss in 2016, although it will be significantly smaller than initially budgeted at the beginning of the year. The group is ahead of schedule with its turnaround plan.
“In the second half of 2016, we are working hard on revenue generation with more aggressive marketing and sales initiatives whilst maintaining strict cost discipline. We need to move quickly to maximize revenues and I am confident with the steady progress seen that we will succeed,” Bellew said at the results release in September.
