SpiceJet posts net profit of Rs 205 crore in Q1; stock jumps 6%

Budget carrier SpiceJet Ltd reported a net profit of Rs 205 crore for the quarter ending June 2023 (Q1 FY24) as compared to a loss of Rs 789 crore in Q1 FY23 due to a strong air travel demand. The airline said it registered industry's highest domestic load factor of 90 per cent in Q1 FY24.

"For the same comparative period, operating expenses were at Rs 1,291 crore as against Rs 2,072 crore. On an EBITDA basis, profit was Rs 525 crore for the reported quarter against a loss of Rs 393 crore for the quarter ending June 30, 2022. Total operating revenue for the reported quarter was Rs 2,002 crore as against Rs 2,457 crore in the same quarter of the previous year," the carrier stated.

"To strengthen the financial position of the company, promoter/promoter group to infuse Rs 500 crore by way of subscription to equity shares and/or convertible securities/equity share warrants on preferential basis. It received the disbursement of funds under the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme, which has been utilised towards ungrounding of aircraft. The airline plans to bring around 25 of its grounded planes back into service. Further, the aforesaid infusion by the promoter will provide access to additional Rs 200 crore disbursement under the ECLGS," it further mentioned.

In the previous quarter (Q4 FY23), the airline posted a net profit of 17 crore against a loss of Rs 458 crore in Q4 FY22. For the said quarter, SpiceJet said it saw industry's highest domestic load factor of 92 per cent.

In FY23, SpiceJet said it lowered its losses to Rs 1,503 crore against to Rs 1,725 crore in FY22. For the same comparative period, it reported operating revenue of Rs 8,869 crore in FY23 as against Rs 6,557 crore in FY22.

On April 1, 2023, SpiceJet completed the hive-off of its logistics platform into a separate entity, SpiceXpress and Logistics Pvt Ltd. "Consequent to the hive-off there is an improvement of net worth in SpiceJet to the tune of Rs 2,557 crore (from negative Rs 4,288 crore to negative Rs 3,232 crore i.e. positive variance by 25 per cent), it said.

Ajay Singh, Chairman and Managing Director, SpiceJet, said, "Despite facing multiple challenges, we have posted a profit in Q1 FY24. I firmly believe in the potential of our airline, and I am pleased to have contributed to its growth by infusing Rs 500 crore into the company. This infusion will help bolster our efforts in reviving our grounded planes, for which we have been working tirelessly, strengthening our fleet and expanding our cargo operations."

Last week, the Board of SpiceJet had deferred the release of Q4 FY23 and Q1 FY23 results. Shares of SpiceJet rose sharply after the earnings were out today. The stock jumped 6.02 per cent to hit a day high of Rs 33.45 over its previous close of Rs 31.55.

 

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