ANA prioritises growth by raising $1.9 billion

All Nippon Airways (ANA), Japan’s second largest airline, announced plans Thursday to issue shares worth up to $1.9 billion to help it through the downturn in air travel and purchase five Dreamliners.

The airline said 537.5 million new shares would be issued and includes a greenshoe option of up to 37.5 million shares, leading to a share dilution of 27.6 percent.

It will be ANA’s first fund raising in three years, with analysts saying it shows a commitment to growth compared to Japan Airlines which has downsized and asked for a government bail-out.

According to Reuters, ANA hopes the investment will prepare it for the forecast rise in passenger demand following the completed expansion of Tokyo's Haneda airport next year.

The expansion will involve the opening of a fourth runway which is expected to increase annual capacity by 40 percent and allow airlines to launch new routes.

The outlook has since prompted ANA to hire new staff and ordered five more Boeing 787 Dreamliners worth an estimated $800 million at list prices.

ANA have insisted for Boeing to get their delivery schedule in order as the airline initially ordered 50 Dreamliners but has not even received one due to flight test delays which have accumulated to two years.

The global recession has heavily impacted ANA which posted its first annual loss in six years, a group net loss of 4.3 billion yen for the twelve months ending March.