BANGKOK (Reuters) -Thai Airways International’s stock price surged as much as 231% after shares in the airline resumed trading on Monday before falling back later in the morning.
The stock was up 186% at 9.5 baht ($0.2872) at 12:50 p.m. (0550 GMT). The national carrier went into bankruptcy-protected restructuring in 2020 at the onset of the pandemic.
The airline had been in trouble well before the pandemic, reporting losses nearly every year since 2012 after low-cost carriers eroded its market share, especially in short haul routes in Southeast Asia.
When COVID struck, Thai Airways was granted bankrupt-protected debt restructuring worth 400 billion baht. It brought in top executives for its restructuring committee chaired by former energy minister Piyasvasti Amranand, who was also the company’s chief executive in 2009 to 2012 when it was profitable.
The committee launched debt to equity plans and went on to slash half of its support staff to 16,000. It also initiated plans to cut its fleet from 103 to 85 aircraft and shed its budget carrier, Thai Smile.
Over five years from 2020, the airline reduced its debt to 190 billion baht and reported operational profits in 2023. In the first quarter of this year, net profits reached $9.8 billion, up 300% from the the same period last year.
It currently flies 78 jets and reported a cabin factor – the percentage of seats filled with passengers – of 83.3%.
Last year, the carrier ordered 45 Boeing 787-9 wide-body jets with an option for 35 more. In July, it said it could exercise the option as part of Thailand’s tariff negotiations with the United States.
($1 = 32.4500 baht)
(Reporting by Orathai Sriring and Chayut Setboonsarng, Editing by David Stanway)
