United Arab Emirates flag carrier Etihad is racing to become the first major Middle Eastern airline to conduct an initial public offering, according to comments made by chief executive Antonoaldo Neves.
Speaking to Bloomberg, Neves said Etihad is “working very hard to make it happen whenever it is the time”.
Etihad is focusing on improving its financial position, corporate governance and transparency in order to pursue the IPO, with an eye on raising up to $1 billion from the flotation.
Neves said the group had a “very, very clear” mandate from shareholders to “run this company like you’re running a company that is listed”. He didn’t say what listing venues Etihad is contemplating.
Etihad’s yearly results published in March underscored the airline’s strong post-Covid recovery.
They showed a 40% year-on-year uptick in passengers in 2023, an 11% increase in passenger revenues to $5.5 billion and a total net profit of $143 million from just $25 million in 2022.
Etihad's owner is Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund ADQ.