Tassapon offloads 4.8 percent stake in Asia Aviation

Tassapon

Tassapon Bejleveld, the chief executive officer of Asia Aviation (AAV), which operates the low-cost carrier Thai AirAsia, said the disposal of some of his shares in the company yesterday would not affect the airline's operations.

He said he had sold the shares in a big-lot transaction to support the business growth of the carrier and for repayment of a personal financial obligation.

According to a filing to the Stock Exchange of Thailand, Tassapon sold 235 million shares, equal to 4.8 per cent of the total issued and paid-up shares of AAV. Based on the opening price of Bt6.60 yesterday, Tassapon should have reaped Bt1.55 billion from the sale.

The company clarified that Tassapon's intention in disposing off the shares was to complement the business growth of Thai AirAsia in the future, and for repayment of his personal financial obligation. After the transaction, he remains the major shareholder of AAV, holding 28.2 per cent of total issued and paid-up capital, and will continue as the chief executive officer.

In a filing to the SET, it said the transaction would not affect the carrier's performance for the rest of this year. It recorded revenue of more than Bt6 billion and net profit of Bt739 million in the first three months.

In the first quarter of this year, revenue increased 24 per cent to Bt6.03 billion mainly on the increase in passenger revenue. This came from a rise in the number of passengers to 2.6 million, up from 2.1 million in the same period last year, and a higher average fare of Bt 1,995, up from Bt1,904.

The number of passengers in March hit a new record of 920,000, while the load factor rate reached 87 per cent.

In the first quarter, more than 850,000 Chinese visitors travelled by plane to Thailand, half of them AirAsia passengers. The number of Chinese passengers travelling by AirAsia has jumped by 140 per cent year on year, according to the Department of Tourism.

Thai AirAsia will buy one more aircraft, in addition to its plan to acquire seven, to deal with the rising number of passengers. This will take the carrier's fleet to 35 aircraft, targeting 10 million passengers this year, up from 8.3 million last year.

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Article source: http://www.thethailandlinks.com/2013/05/18/tassapon-offloads-4-8-percent-stake-in-asia-aviation/