Jet Airways Shares Drop 7% After Airline Defers Q1 Results

Shares of full-service carrier Jet Airways Ltd fell as much as 14.5 per cent in early trade on Friday after the company deferred its first-quarter results, reported news agency Reuters. At 11:10 am, shares in the company, valued at about $500 million were trading at 278.50 with a loss of 23.20 points or 7.69 per cent. The carrier, on Thursday said that its board has deferred the consideration of unedited financial results for the first quarter of the current financial year 2018-19.

According to the Jet Airways, the audit committee did not recommend the results to the company's board for approval "pending closure of certain matters". The airline, which is partly owned by Etihad Airways, has been facing financial troubles, although it said earlier this month it remains confident of being able to cut costs and keep flying despite reports it had warned staff it was running out of cash.

According to a Reuters report, the Jet Airways had told pilots last week that it had enough cash left to keep operating for just 60 days and would need to put in place cost-cutting measures including pay cuts. The airline has asked pilots to take a 15 percent pay cut for two years, a proposal they have refused.

Meanwhile, in the early trade today, the domestic stock markets started on a negative note. Retreating from its lifetime high, the S&P BSE Sensex dropped 98.32 points to trade at 37,926.05. Banking, Receding from its record level, the Nifty50 index also slipped 7.35 points to trade at 11,463.35 in early trade. (With Reuters inputs)