IndiGo Posts Record Quarterly Loss Of Rs 1,195 Crore On Pandemic Hit

Interglobe Aviation Ltd, which runs the country's largest airline IndiGo, reported its record quarterly loss on Thursday as pandemic-related travel restrictions continued to dent its operations. The company's second-quarter net loss came in at Rs 1,195 crore, compared with a loss of Rs 1,066 crore last year.

IndiGo's EBITDAR (Earnings before finance income and cost, tax, depreciation, amortization and aircraft and engine rentals) or operating profit rose 59 per cent annually to Rs 408.5 crore and EBITDAR margin came in at 14.9 per cent, the Gurugram-based airline said.

IndiGo's total fleet of aircrafts stood a 282 planes, the company said.

The global aviation industry has been among the worst hit by the pandemic and related travel restrictions.

The airline said it expects third-quarter average seat kilometers (ASKs) to be around 60 per cent of its ASKs for the same quarter a year earlier.

"We are slowly but surely stair-stepping our way back to normal capacity," Chief Executive Officer Ronojoy Dutta said in a statement.

"Once we are back at 100 per cent capacity, we will have lower unit costs, a stronger product, more efficient fleet and a robust network," he said.

IndiGo, which dominates the domestic market, said its total debt as of September stood at Rs 25,419.4 crore, up 28 per cent from last year.

In June, IndiGo said it would cut up to Rs 4,000 crore in costs and speed up the return of older planes to leasing companies in an attempt to cope with the pandemic-incurred hit to business.

Revenue from operations plunged 66 per cent to Rs 2,741 crore, the airline operator said on Thursday.

Interglobe Aviation shares ended 3.11 per cent higher at Rs 1,333 ahead of the earnings announcement.