Auckland Airport (ASX:AIA) denies equity raise plans

Highlights

• According to Wayne Brown, Mayor of Auckland, Auckland Airport is planning an equity raising.
• The company denied the speculations via an ASX filing on15 December.
• Shares of Auckland Airport were put on a trading halt post Mayor Brown’s statement.

Auckland's mayor Wayne Brown indicated on Thursday (15 December) that Auckland International Airport (ASX:AIA) is preparing a significant capital raising to fund a new domestic terminal during a crucial council meeting.

Shortly after the news surfaced, the New Zealand-based airline business Auckland Airport halted its trading shares. While the shares were on trading halt, the company informed the market via an ASX announcement that Auckland Airport doesn’t have any plans to do an equity raising. Shares of Auckland International Airport were restored to trading within an hour.

Share performance of Auckland Airport

Auckland Airport’s shares were 0.131% up as of 10:57 AM AEDT on 16 December, priced at AU$7.60 apiece. The S&P ASX/200 Consumer Staples sector, on the other hand, was down 125.5 points, or to a total of 12,663.7 points around the same time.

Despite today's rise, Auckland Airport's share price has decreased 0.26% over the previous five trading days. Over six months, Auckland Airport’s shares have surged 18.38%, 4.11% on year-to-date (YTD), and 6.29% in 12 months.

What did Auckland Airport say in response to Wayne Brown speculation?

Not only Auckland International Airport denied the speculations of equity raising, but the company also said that it would rather use borrowings to fund the new domestic terminal. Auckland Airport also stated that no announcements were made concerning any equity raising to the market.

Additionally, the official ASX filing mentioned that the company is focused on continuing to discuss its upcoming infrastructure programme with other airlines. The programme includes Auckland Airport’s priority project, “the creation of a combined domestic and international terminal as part of an expansion to the existing international terminal.”

Auckland Airport says to have received A- credit rating from S&P on 20 October 2022.

What else has been happening at Auckland Airport?

On14 December, the company shared its October 2022 traffic update, according to which:

• Total passenger traffic at Auckland Airport in October 2022 was 72% of what it was in FY19 prior to COVID-19.
• International passenger movements increased to 61% of the pre-COVID equivalent in October, up from 58% in September 2022.
• International short-haul passenger movements were 71% of pre-COVID, with Australia accounting for 67% and the Pacific Islands for 83%.
• Long-haul international passenger movements increased from 41% in September to 46% in October.
• Domestic passenger movements reached 86% of the pre-COVID equivalent in October 2022.