AQZ: Revenue soars but the share price remains grounded
I first wrote about Alliance Aviation Services (ASX:AQZ) 12 months ago. Since that time almost every metric has improved except one. The share price. The price has gone from $3.05 to $3.14 a rise of 3%. Given they pay no dividends, that is a pretty mediocre return, especially when compared to the market return of 13.3% over the same period.
So if everything is soaring, why is the share price stuck on the ground?
Alliance is one of the most significant airlines in Australia with 70 aircraft currently in operation and firm purchase commitments in place to add another 24. Their fleet increased by eight aircraft over calendar 2023 and has more than doubled over the last five years as represented in the chart below.
Source: Alliance Aviation Services, Half Year Ended 31 December 2023 Results Presentation, 7/2/24
Yet most Australians have probably not heard of them. That is because they operate few regular public transport flights and are reducing this still further.
Their strategic goal is to be a wholesaler of aircraft capacity. Their largest source of revenue is contract revenue which accounted for 51% of revenue in the first...