IndiGo has reported a 75 per cent fall in profit after tax at ₹190.9 crore for the quarter ended December 2018 as compared to a profit of ₹762 crore in the same quarter the previous year.

In a statement to the Bombay Stock Exchange, the airline said that its profitability was adversely affected by high fuel prices and currency depreciation.

“Though we have seen a reduction in fuel prices this quarter as compared to the previous quarter, on a year-on-year basis, fuel prices are 31 per cent higher and the rupee has weakened by 11 per cent,” Rahul Bhatia, airline founder and interim Chief Executive Officer, said in a conference call following the results.

Bhatia said the airline added 19 aircraft in the latest quarter and ended the year with 208 aircraft. He said that during the last one year, the airline had taken delivery of 55 aircraft, which was roughly one aircraft a week.

During the quarter, the airline reported a total income of ₹8,229.4 crore, an increase of 28.4 per cent over the same period previously. For the latest quarter, passenger ticket revenues were ₹7,065.9 crore, an increase of 32.8 per cent, and ancillary revenues were at ₹805.1 crore, an increase of 15 per cent.

The EBITDAR or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortisation, and rent/restructuring before exceptional items was ₹1,681.4 crore with an EBITDAR margin of 21.2 per cent for the quarter ended December 2018 as compared to an EBITDAR of ₹2,001.9 crore with a margin of 32.4 per cent for the same period last year.

The airline said it had a strong balance sheet with total cash of ₹14,136.1 crore including free cash of ₹4,618.3 crore and restricted cash of ₹9,517.8 crore as on December 31 last year.

In a statement, the airline said that it had a basic EPS of ₹4.97 for the quarter ended December 2018.

Speaking about domestic operations, Bhatia said the airline had increased its daily domestic departures by 75 flights during the quarter.

Bhatia also announced that IndiGo was planning to start direct flights to Istanbul in March and commence service to other global destinations as the year progresses.