Australian regional airline Regional Express (Rex) is planning an initial public offering (IPO) to fund fleet expansion in October, writes Emma Kelly.
The country's largest independent regional airline currently operates a fleet of 21 Saab 340s and six Fairchild Metro 23s to 28 regional centres from Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide.
The airline, which was formed from the collapsed Hazelton Airlines and Kendell Airlines in August 2002, has yet to decide how much of the company will be floated. Rex is majority-owned by Singaporean businessmen.
The planned IPO comes as the airline forecasts a A$9 million ($7 million) pre-tax profit for the year – up A$1 million on a year ago – on revenues of A$132 million.
Source: Flight International
