Q3 Results: Jet Airways Reports Fourth Straight Quarterly Loss
Rising costs continue to hurt Jet Airways.
Jet Airways (India) Ltd. reported loss for the fourth straight quarter as rising costs continued to weigh on the cash-strapped full-service carrier.
The airline reported a net loss of Rs 587.8 crore in the December-ended quarter, compared with a Rs 165.3-crore profit in the same quarter last year, according to its exchange filing.
- Revenue rose 1 percent to Rs 6,148 crore.
- Operating profit (Ebitdar) declined 54.3 percent to Rs 459.5 crore.
- Margin narrowed by more than half to 7.5 percent.
- Total expenses rose 12.3 percent to Rs 6,786.2 crore. Bulk of the expenses came from a 30 percent rise in aircraft fuel cost.
- Other income also declined by more than half to Rs 504 crore.
The Mumbai-based carrier is a facing a severe cash crunch that has put the airline, that employs over 23,000 people, on the verge of a shutdown. Struggling to maintain profitability and market share in India’s increasingly competitive aviation market, Jet Airways has piled on a debt of more than Rs 10,900 crore and is falling behind on paying loans and salaries.
Jet Airways hasn’t seen profit in all but two of the past 11 years, and has seen its market share fall by more than half to about 14 percent from its heyday.
Its board today agreed to give lenders the majority stake by converting part of its debt to equity as the airline battles a cash crunch. It approved a bank-led provisional resolution programme by its biggest lender State Bank of India. The plan estimates a funding gap of roughly Rs 8,500 crore, which is to be met by an “appropriate mix of equity infusion, debt restructuring, sale, lease back or refinancing of aircraft”, among other options.
Shares of Jet airways have fallen 68 percent in the past year, making it the worst performing share on Bloomberg Intelligence’s Asia Pacific Airlines Index.
