Capital A Berhad saw its share price rise sharply on Tuesday (December 2), the ex-dividend date for the distribution of AirAsia X (AAX) shares.
The stock opened at an adjusted price of RM0.245 and climbed almost 90% to RM0.465 during intraday trading.
The adjustment reflects a planned dividend-in-specie through which Capital A will distribute AAX shares as part of the disposal of its aviation businesses.
Following the ex-date, investors are set to receive about 389 AAX shares for every 1,000 Capital A shares held.
Although Capital A's share price is down more than 50% over the past 30 days, much of this decline stems from the market progressively repricing the stock ahead of the distribution.
Capital A said the movement of the stock on the ex-date reflects “strong investor confidence” in its post-aviation strategic direction.
“This move marks a pivotal moment for the company as it refocuses its energy and capital on its high-growth, asset-light digital and logistics ventures,” said Capital A.
“The market’s immediate and positive response appears to validate the company’s view that significant value exists within its non-aviation portfolio.”
Tony Fernandes, CEO of Capital A, added that the share-price movement was not just a “technical rally”.
“It's the market acknowledging the fundamental strength and high-growth trajectory of our digital and logistics businesses,” he said.
“This enthusiastic response provides powerful momentum as we move forward with our strategic plans.
“It significantly strengthens our position for our upcoming capital-raising initiatives and serves as a robust vote of confidence as we prepare for a potential listing in Hong Kong, demonstrating a clear appetite for our growth story.”
Separately, AirAsia has announced that it has completed technical upgrades following software issues with Airbus A320 family aircraft, which caused disruptions over the weekend.
AirAsia is now in full compliance with the Emergency Airworthiness Directive issued by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), following the Alert Operators Transmission from Airbus.
The low-cost carrier said it completed the required software rollback across its operational A320 family fleet within 24 hours.
“Safety is core to the trust that guests place in us, and our response was immediate and thorough in this regulator-mandated action,” said Bo Lingam, Group CEO of AirAsia Aviation Group.
“Our teams across the region were mobilised at once to meet all engineering, operations, safety and customer experience requirements, so that guests experienced as little inconvenience as possible.”