Delhi-based air freight forwarder Skyways Air Services has demonstrated exceptional investor response on Day 3 of its ₹582.8 crore IPO, with the public issue receiving bids for 15.02 crore shares against 2.95 crore shares on offer as of August 26, 2026. The subscription rate has improved to over 5.08 times from the previous day's 2.46 times, indicating robust investor confidence. The IPO, which opened with ₹131-138 per share price band, will remain open until August 27, 2026, with shares expected to list on September 1, 2026 on both NSE and BSE. The issue comprises a fresh issue of 28.89 crore shares worth ₹398.8 crore and Offer for Sale (OFS) of 1.33 crore shares worth ₹184 crore by selling shareholders. An investor can bid for a minimum of 100 equity shares and multiples thereof.
The company's grey market performance has strengthened significantly, with shares commanding a grey market premium (GMP) of ₹29 as of August 26, 2026 at 11:45 am, according to NDTV Profit. At the upper end of the price band, this GMP implies an estimated listing price of ₹167, indicating a potential listing gain of around 21.01% for successful allottees. The strong grey market sentiment reflects growing investor confidence in the IPO's prospects. The company's anchor book allocation of ₹174.5 crore was distributed to 17 anchor investors at ₹138 per share, with the board allotting 1.26 crore shares on August 24, 2026. 50.5 lakh shares worth ₹69.69 crore were allotted to two domestic mutual funds - Bank of India Mutual Fund and Taurus Asset Management - across six schemes. The anchor investor list includes Nomura Singapore, Citigroup, LC Pharos Multi Strategy Fund, Holani Venture Capital Fund, Pranitya India Opportunities Fund and IndusInd General Insurance.
The IPO has shown strong performance across all investor categories on Day 3, with retail investors subscribing 6.18 times, non-institutional investors at 5.81 times, and employee reserved quota at 0 times, as per The Hindu BusinessLine. The qualified institutional buyers (QIBs) quota was subscribed only 0.48 times, indicating selective institutional participation. The subscription pattern demonstrates robust retail and non-institutional investor interest, while institutional participation remains moderate. The IPO had previously received 1.16 times subscription on the first day and 2.46 times on the second day, building momentum through the subscription period.
Skyways Air Services has demonstrated robust financial improvement with revenue from operations increasing 25.1% to ₹2,812.9 crore in FY26 from ₹2,247.8 crore in FY25. The company reported a consolidated net profit of ₹41.01 crore for the twelve months ended March 31, 2026. The company's operating cash flow rose to ₹113 crore in FY26 from a negative ₹9 crore in FY24, driven by higher volumes, better profitability, and improved working capital management. The gross working-capital cycle has improved significantly from 90 days to 75 days, while the net cycle stands at 43 days, with management indicating this improvement is sustainable due to credit received from carrier partners.
Skyways Air Services, incorporated in 1984, operates in air and ocean freight forwarding, trucking, warehousing, customs broking, and express cargo and parcel delivery. In FY26, revenue from operations is distributed across air cargo services (77.02%), ocean cargo services (15.02%), express cargo & parcel (5.79%), trucking (1.38%), value-added services (0.61%), warehousing (0.13%), and sale of products (0.05%). The company has performance-based agreements with several leading global airlines, including Qatar Airways, Saudi Cargo, Air India Cargo, Turkish Airlines, and Lufthansa. This diversified revenue stream and strategic partnerships help the company acquire customers, improve profitability, and build stronger relationships in the competitive logistics market. The company similarly operates a robust, IT-enabled platform and sustains a strong global network through international alliances with organizations such as the World Cargo Alliance (WCA), Air & Ocean Partners (AOP), Combined Logistics Networks (CLN), Multi Group Logistics Network (MGLN), Global Freight Alliance (GFA), and the Transport Worldwide International Group (TWIG).
The company plans to utilize ₹216.78 crore of net fresh issue proceeds for debt repayment against total outstanding borrowings of ₹586.2 crore as of June 2026, with ₹16-18 crore in interest savings expected this year. The remaining ₹130 crore will be deployed for incremental working capital requirements, while the company's merchant bankers Holani Consultants, Shannon Advisors and Dolat Finserv are managing the IPO process. The broader logistics market is projected to expand at a ~10.7% CAGR, from USD 357 billion in FY26 to USD 536 billion by FY30. India's air freight movement has maintained steady long-term growth, rising from 3.33 million tonnes in FY2020 to 3.96 million tonnes in FY2026, representing a CAGR of approximately 2.9%. The domestic express logistics segment is expected to grow at a 14% CAGR between FY2023 and FY2028.
