SIA

SIA: armed with aviation’s largest cash pile, spent more on its own shares than on spare parts in FYMar12, helping make it Asia’s best-performing airline stock in the past six months. SIA has risen 1.4% since the end of Nov, the only gain among the 16 airline stocks tracked by Bloomberg. SIA has bought 25.2m of its own shares since Aug ’11 following a 29% four-week stock slump. The purchases, which exceed the amount the carrier bought in the previous 10 fiscal years, helped the shares withstand a quarterly loss that surprised analysts and concerns about the global economy. The airline had US$3.4b of net cash at the end Dec. It spent ~S$272m on buybacks in the year ended Mar, compared with the S$219m maintenance arm SIA Engg spent on parts and materials. The unit does most of the airline’s maintenance and accounts for the vast majority of its spending on parts. SIA says it buys its own stock “when appropriate” to fund share-based pay and performance plans for staff. Temasek Holdings, SIA’s biggest investor, also added 5.6m shares to its direct shareholding last month.