Starlux Airlines (JX, Taipei Taoyuan) will pursue another capital increase that it hopes will raise up to TWD5 billion Taiwan new dollars (USD164 million) in funds, which it will use “to enrich the working capital and improve the financial structure,” it announced in a Taipei Exchange filing on February 21.
The airline said that its board of directors had approved the issuance of no more than 300 million common shares. The issue price will be announced separately after the price is set, and the chairman - Chang Kuo-wei - has been authorised to determine whether the market conditions are favourable before triggering the process.
An earlier capital increase, its sixth, raised TWD3 billion (USD100 million) in September 2022.
The move comes as the price of Starlux Airlines’ shares, which are traded on the Emerging Market of the Taipei Stock Exchange, has soared in the last two weeks. Last week, the bourse set trading restrictions on the shares because of their volatility in recent sessions.
In a separate filing, on February 22, in response to a question from Taiwan’s Commercial Times, Starlux Airlines said it “will apply for a listing in April at the earliest, and it is expected to be listed at the end of this year or early next year. The goal of Starlux Airlines is currently to evaluate whether to adopt multiple listings.”
The company’s revenue has grown sharply in recent months as pandemic-era border controls disappeared. In January, it saw revenue of TWD1.523 billion (USD49.9 million), up 58% from a month earlier, and it expects to post its first profit in 2023.
Earlier this month, Starlux confirmed that Los Angeles International will be its first destination in the United States, with service to start on April 26. Other international destinations are also planned.
According to the ch-aviation fleets module, StarLux Airlines’ fleet currently consists of thirteen A321-200NXs, four A330-900Ns, and two A350-900s. Three more A330s, fifteen more of the A350s, and one A350-1000 are on order.
