Skyways Air Services shares list at 10% discount to IPO price, miss Street expectations

Shares of Skyways Air Services made a weak debut on the stock exchanges on Tuesday, listing 10% below the initial public offering (IPO) price and falling sharply short of Street expectations.

Skyways Air Services shares debuted at ₹124 apiece on the National Stock Exchange (NSE), a 10.1% discount to the IPO issue price of ₹138. On the BSE, the stock opened at ₹124.50, down 9.7% from the issue price, giving the company a market capitalisation of ₹1,809.53 crore.

The listing fell well short of Street expectations, as the stock was commanding a significant premium in the grey market ahead of its market debut. The IPO was trading at a grey market premium (GMP) of ₹32, implying an estimated listing price of around ₹170 and a potential gain of 23.2% over the issue price. However, the stock's actual debut was nearly ₹46 below the GMP-implied price.

Meanwhile, the benchmark Sensex and Nifty 50 were trading marginally lower in early deals on Tuesday, tracking weak cues from global markets.

IPO garners strong demand

The ₹582.80-crore IPO of Skyways Air Services, which was open for subscription from August 24 to August 27, was subscribed 71.25 times.

The issue received bids for 210.79 crore equity shares against 2.96 crore shares on offer, translating into demand worth nearly ₹29,089 crore at the issue price of ₹138.

Institutional investors led the subscription frenzy. The qualified institutional buyers' (QIB) portion was subscribed 139.69 times, while the non-institutional investor (NII) category was subscribed 87.24 times. The retail portion was subscribed 25.4 times.

Incorporated in 1984, Skyways Air Services is an air freight forwarding and logistics company with operations spanning air and ocean freight forwarding, trucking, warehousing and customs broking. It also offers technology-driven express cargo and parcel delivery services, along with other value-added solutions.

The company says it has been ranked No. 1 air freight forwarder in terms of airway bill (AWB) generation by World ACD for the past four calendar years, from 2022 to 2025.

Skyways Air Services also has performance-based agreements with several leading global airlines, including Saudi Cargo, Air India Cargo and Emirates. Its agreement with Lufthansa is also in place, while its agreement with Qatar Airways is under renewal.

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