The Delhi-based low-cost airline IndiGo has reported a profit after tax of ₹487.25 crore for the third quarter ended December 2016, a decrease of 25.1 per cent compared to the ₹650.34-crore profit after tax reported during the same period in the previous year.
In a statement to the BSE, the airline has said that it reported an EBITDAR or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortisation and rent /restructuring costs of ₹1460.54 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2016, compared to EBITDAR of ₹1676.81 crore for the same period previously.
During the period under review, the airline’s total revenue from operations stood at ₹4986.49 crore, an increase of 16 per cent compared to the same period in the previous year.
The airline reported an EBITDAR margin of 29.3 per cent for the quarter ending December 31, 2016, compared to an EBITDAR margin of 39 per cent for the same period previously.
Total revenues stood at ₹5158.42 crore, an increase of 16.8 per cent over the same period in the previous year. For the latest quarter, the airline reported passenger revenue at ₹4,369 crore or an increase of 16.1 per cent, while ancillary revenues were up 12.5 per cent at ₹579.32 crore during the period ending December 31, 2016.
Total expenses stood at ₹4556.29 crore an increase of 30.3 per cent. The airline reported that as on December 31, 2016, it had a total cash balance of ₹8,455 crore comprising ₹3786.5 crore of free cash and ₹4668.5 crore of restricted cash.
The statement to the BSE adds that the airline’s total debt as on December 31, 2016, was ₹2746.6 crore.
This was entirely aircraft related and the company did not have any working capital debt.
The statement quotes Aditya Ghosh, President, as saying that the airline reported yet another profitable quarter despite lower yields and higher fuel prices.
“Yield pressure has been pretty secular across our network,” Ghosh later told investors in a conference call.
He also indicated that the airline was planning to increase its network to cover six more cities of which three will be international destinations.
He added that the airline’s operations to at least three of the six new cities could start in the next 90 days.
Commenting on the IndiGo results, Kapil Kaul, CEO, South Asia Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation, said that the Q3 financials reflect the beginning of a challenging environment for the industry, adding that IndiGo’s fuel costs were up by 44 per cent, while currency impact was at 2.75 per cent on a year-on-year basis.
On Tuesday, IndiGo scrip closed at ₹900.85, down 3.36 per cent from the previous day’s closing.