Aviation market leader IndiGo reported a whopping 401 per cent increase in its profit after tax ( PAT) for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2019, at ₹589.6 crore, against ₹117.6 crore in the same quarter of the previous year.
During the quarter ended March 31, 2019, the airline reported revenues of ₹7,883.3 crore from its operations, showing an increase of 35.9 per cent compared to the same period last year. Its total income for the quarter stood at ₹8,259.8 crore, a 35.5 per cent increase over the same period a year ago.
Passenger ticket revenues stood at ₹7,037.3 crore, having risen 40.2 per cent, while ancillary revenues were at ₹826.4 crore, an increase of 24.1 per cent over the year-ago period.
IndiGo reported an EBITDAR or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortisation and rent /restructuring of ₹2,192.6 crore with an EBITDAR margin of 27.8 per cent compared to an EBITDAR of ₹1,132.1 crore with an EBITDAR margin of 19.5 per cent in the corresponding period of the previous year.
However, for the full year ended March 31, 2019, the airline reported a 93 per cent decline in its profit after tax to ₹156.1 crore against a PAT of ₹2,242.4 crore a year earlier.
‘Tough year for airlines’
Commenting on the results, Ronojoy Dutta, CEO, said that fiscal 2019 was a tough year for the airline industry in India because of high fuel prices, a weak rupee and an intensely competitive environment.
“Our results for the full year were of course not great. We essentially had a break-even year. It is important to note that we made a sharp U-turn in the year with losses in the first two quarters and recovery of profits in the last two quarters,” he said.
For the full year, IndiGo reported revenue from operations of ₹28,496.8 crore, an increase of 23.8 per cent. It reported an EBITDAR of ₹5,224.5 crore with an EBITDAR margin of 18.3 per cent compared to EBITDAR of ₹6,676.8 crore with an EBITDAR margin of 29 per cent for the previous year.
The airline has a strong balance sheet with total cash of ₹15,308.1 crore, including free cash of ₹6,079.6 crore.
The airline’s board of directors has recommended a dividend of ₹5 per share.