Friday 29 Mar 2024
By
main news image

KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 10): AirAsia Bhd rose as much as six sen or 5% after Maybank Investment Bank Bhd said the budget airline’s financials were studier compared to six years ago.

Today, AirAsia shares rose to RM1.17, its highest so far, to become Bursa Malaysia's most-active stock.

At 11.21am, the stock pared gains at RM1.15 with some 57 million shares done. At RM1.15, AirAsia has a market capitalisation of RM3.2 billion.

In a research note today, Maybank analyst Mohshin Aziz said its view on AirAsia was premised on its cheap valuation and improving outlook.

Mohshin said a recent marketing trip showed concerns that AirAsia could collapse under the burden of debt and payment default from its Indonesian and Philippines-based associates.

He said many looked to 2008 and 2009 when the company had a similar balance sheet strain that was only resolved after fresh capital was raised via private placement.

Today, Mohsin said : "We see no such risk - balance sheet and cash flows are much sturdier than back in 2008-09."

“We remain adamant that AirAsia is a “buy” as all the negative elements have been priced in but the positives have been ignored. The short positions have largely been unwound and a floor of 78 sen seems to have been established,” he said. Mohsin maintained Maybank's  target price of RM2.05 for AirAsia shares.

      Print
      Text Size
      Share