Looks like REX are 'all hat no cattle'
when it comes to getting jets. They've received a 'please explain' from the ASX over disclosing market sensitive information to a newspaper......
REX ASX Announcement
Dear SirAt the outset, we would like to assure ASX that Rex takes its continuous disclosure and other ASX obligations seriously and we have always tried to comply with our obligations.In response to your letter of 18 May 2020, we would like to provide the following information.On28April2020, Rex was approached unsolicited by the Australian Financial Reviewseeking an interview with Rex's Chairman to discuss Rex's success in regional aviation, as well as general aviation issues. The interview took place on 5May2020. During the course of that interview the journalist began to also ask about the domestic aviation sector and the Virgin situation. The AFR article was published on7May2020 and is reproduced in the Appendix.The article generated widespread interest in aviation circles and Rex was contacted by several parties wanting to discuss the future of domestic operations. In a follow-up interview by the same journalist from the AFR with the Deputy Chairman,John Sharp on 11May2020, thequestion was asked as to whether Rex was interested in taking any initiatives with regards to the VA situation. John replied that Rex had some confidential exploratory discussions with some parties about Rex’s possible interest in starting domestic operations. John said that Rex’sposition was that Rex felt that expanding its operations to cover domestic services could make commercial sense if there was a party willing to adequately fund the project. This resulted in the article being published in the AFR on 12 May2020.The Sydney Morning Herald article of 13 May2020was probably written on the back of the AFR article but Rex had nothing to do with that article.Rex has always tried to ensure that any material informationis disclosed to the ASX prior to the release to the general public. In this particular instance Rex believed that information about possible city operations was not sufficiently definitive to constitute material informationWe also took this view as we did not expect that information to have a material effect on our share price. In the almost 15 years since Rex has been listed on the ASX, we have observed that nothing much excites the stock market concerning Rex besides news of exceptional dividends or profits. Rex has made many announcements of contracts worth several hundreds of millions with barely a ripple on the share price. Another example is how the newspapers recently carried reports of Rex receiving an outright grant of over $50 Million from the Commonwealth and the share price did not even move. Given this background, we didn't expect our share price to move as it did.Given how the share price reacted to the news, it is evident that our judgement call was erroneous. We wish to reassure ASX that Rex will err on the side of caution in the future.While Rex believes its continuous disclosure program and training has been adequate, it will seek to make further improvements. In particular, we will be engaging our lawyers to conduct further training on Continuous Disclosure to the Board and Management Committee at the next Board meeting to ensurethat our obligations are clearly understood and complied with.We appreciate ASX raising this matter with us. We confirm that these responses have been authorised and approved by our Chairman and Deputy Chairman who have authority to respond to ASX on disclosure matters