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ROCHE

Zika Test Receives Emergency Approval

Roche Holding AG said a Zika virus test developed by its diagnostics unit has received emergency use authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The test detects the virus in the blood using Roche's LightMix or cobas z 480 machines, both small and easy-to-use systems.

It is the latest diagnostic test to receive emergency authorization in the U.S., in response to the threat posed by the Zika virus. The virus can be detected in either the blood or urine.

The FDA grants this status to unapproved products whose use is deemed necessary in public-health emergencies.

Roche is already providing a test that screens blood donations for the Zika virus.

That test was made available under an investigational new drug program, another route for unapproved products to be made available under special circumstances.

--Denise Roland

AirAsia

Lower Expenses Boost Budget Airline

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia -- Budget airline AirAsia Bhd. said its second-quarter profit rose 41%, driven mainly by lower expenses, including fuel costs and taxes.

Net profit for the April-June period was 342.12 million ringgit ($84.7 million), compared with 243.03 million ringgit a year earlier, the Malaysian carrier said in a stock-exchange filing Monday.

Revenue grew 23% to 1.62 billion ringgit from 1.32 billion ringgit a year earlier.

"Based on our performance and trend for the first half of the year, we believe 2016 will be a very good year for the company," said Tony Fernandes, AirAsia's group chief executive, in a statement.

Demand in Malaysia remained extremely robust and he sees this improving in the coming quarters as consumer sentiment picked up in the domestic economy, Mr. Fernandes said.

Indian travelers entering Malaysia grew by 34% year on year in AirAsia, he added.

The airline expects load factor, a measure of how full planes are, in Malaysia to be 90% in the third quarter ending September, from 87% in the second quarter ended June.

It forecasts more than 80% load factor for India, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines in the third quarter.

AirAsia, co-founded and run by Mr. Fernandes, is Asia's largest low-cost airline by passenger numbers. The company has grown from a two-plane operation in 2002 to become a billion-dollar airline, but was weighed down by intense competition from rivals such as Lion Air and Jetstar in Southeast Asia.

The Malaysia-based carrier returned to the black in the quarter ended in December, thanks to lower fuel costs, improved passenger numbers and foreign-exchange volatility.

Shares of AirAsia have more than doubled year to date, mainly driven by anticipated gains on the divestment of its leasing arm, Asia Aviation Capital or AAC.

On Monday, shares of AirAsia were up 2.05% to end at 2.99 ringgit, ahead of the earnings release.

Research house UOBKayHian said the rise in share price was overdone. "We expect the accretion to equity from the divestment to be minimal as the equity portion will have to be adjusted for the hold company's [AirAsia] debt," UOBKayHian said.

In a separate announcement, AirAsia said its board of directors has approved plans to carry out a sale process to potentially divest all or a substantial portion of its equity stake in AAC. AirAsia has appointed RHB Investment Bank, Credit Suisse (Singapore) Ltd and BNP Paribas as joint advisers for a potential sale, according to the filing.

AirAsia has reportedly valued the business unit at up to 4.1 billion ringgit.

AirAsia wholly owns AAC, which provides aircraft-leasing services within AirAsia. AAC began leasing to third parties last September. According to notes accompanying AirAsia's financial statements, ACC's profit after tax in the April-June period surged to $18.8 million from $1.2 million in the year-earlier period. AirAsia said AAC's portfolio of aircraft for lease has increased to 55 in the quarter from 19 a year earlier.

Meanwhile, Mr. Fernandes said AirAsia remains a beneficiary of current low fuel prices, with all of its associates seeing lower aircraft fuel expense.

For 2016, AirAsia has hedged 75% of its fuel requirements at an average cost of $56 a barrel, he said. For 2017, it hedged 45% of its fuel requirements at an average cost of $58 a barrel, he added.

--Yantoultra Ngui

Paytm

Online Payment Firm To Raise $300 Million

NEW DELHI -- Indian online payment and e-commerce firm Paytm is raising $300 million from a group of investors led by Taiwanese chip-design company MediaTek Inc., according to a person familiar with the situation.

The investment values the Noida, India-based company at $5 billion, up from an earlier valuation of about $2.5 billion, the person said. MediaTek's contribution amounted to $60 million, according to the person.

In a country where users are increasingly coming online via low-cost smartphones, Paytm provides a popular mobile app that can be used to pay for services like rides from Uber Technologies Inc. and utility bill payments.

Paytm uses its payment service to help direct traffic to its other businesses, like e-commerce. The company says it provides some 135 million mobile wallets in India, where few consumers have credit cards and many prefer to pay in cash.

The new injection comes after Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.'s and its financial-services affiliate Zhejiang Ant Small & Micro Financial Services Grouplast year invested more than $500 million for a 40% stake in One97 Communications.

MediaTek couldn't immediately be reached for comment.

The funding comes as venture capital investments have been slowing in India amid talk of a bubble in Silicon Valley and concerns over global economic conditions.

Investors in the first quarter of 2015 pumped $891 million into Indian tech startups, according to Hong Kong-based AVCJ Research. That number fell 17% to $736 million for the first quarter of this year.

--Newley Purnell

KaloBios

Former CEO Shkreli Sells Rest of Stake

Martin Shkreli has sold his remaining stake in KaloBios Pharmaceuticals Inc., severing his ties with the company he once led as the small drugmaker seeks to distance itself from its former chief executive.

Mr. Shkreli made the disclosure in a regulatory filing on Monday, reporting to regulators that he sold all shares held by him last week in private transactions, and as a result ceased to be a KaloBios shareholder. He sold roughly 2 million shares at $3.10 each, according to the filing, valuing the stake at roughly $5.9 million. In November, Mr. Shkreli and a group held a stake worth about $4.4 million.

Scott Vernick, a lawyer representing Mr. Shkreli, said his client is "moving on, and wishes the company the best in the future."

The South San Francisco-based rare disease drugmaker has said Mr. Shkreli held a less than 14% stake in the company. KaloBios shares rose 19% to $4.15 in morning trading Monday in New York.

KaloBios in July said it reached an agreement to limit Mr. Shkreli's shareholder rights as continued attention garnered by Mr. Shkreli, charged in December for matters unrelated to KaloBios, has taken a toll on the pharmaceutical company's efforts to get back on its feet. The agreement included an option for the company to repurchase his shares.

The company filed for bankruptcy protection not long after Mr. Shkreli was arrested, and the firm announced it emerged from chapter 11 in early July. At the time of his arrest, Mr. Shkreli was trying to land the rights to the drug benznidazole.

On Nov. 13, days before the company announced Mr. Shkreli would become chief executive, KaloBios said it faced "limited cash resources" remaining and would wind down its operations. The stock had hit an all-time low of 44 cents a share on Nov. 16, when Mr. Shkreli began snapping up shares.

On Nov. 19, the company said Mr. Shkreli and the investor group now owned 70% of its shares outstanding, and Mr. Shkreli would lead the company. The stake was valued at $4.4 million at the time.

FBI agents arrested Mr. Shkreli at his Manhattan apartment last year over accusations he misled investors in his hedge funds and looted a publicly traded company to cover losses. Mr. Shkreli denies the criminal charges. He was widely criticized for increasing the price of anti-parasite drug Daraprim by fiftyfold.

--Joshua Jamerson

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 30, 2016 02:48 ET (06:48 GMT)

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