Porter Airlines’ CEO says the carrier is not for sale to another airline, but notes an initial public offering is “inevitable.”
“We haven’t had any discussions with any other parties,” Robert Deluce told BNN in an interview. “I think we can grow quite independent of any other airline.”
As a privately-held company, Porter’s finances are not publicly disclosed, but Deluce says the airline was profitable last year, and is on track to remain profitable in 2016.
“We probably enjoy the strongest balance sheet of any airline in North America if not the world,” he says. “Our current fleet of 26 Q400s is entirely debt-free [and] we have cash in the bank.”
Nonetheless, Deluce says shares in the company will likely hit the market in the medium term.
“At some point in time I think an IPO would be inevitable,” he says. “It’s something that we’ll certainly consider under the right set of circumstances.”
Porter had previously planned to go public, but decided not to proceed in 2010 due to “unfavourable market conditions.”
Deluce did not address specifically when he might once again consider an initial public offering, but noted the airline is prepared to move when “markets are right.”
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