Beleaguered low-cost carrier, SpiceJet on Wednesday saw widening of its losses on a year-on-year basis during the January-March quarter of FY22 as well the April-June quarter of the current fiscal. The airline reported a net loss of Rs 458 crore for the quarter ending March against Rs 235.3 crore in the same period a year ago. During the April-June quarter, net loss stood at Rs 789 crore against Rs 729 crore a year ago.
Meanwhile, the airline’s CFO Sanjeev Taneja resigned on Wednesday. The board has identified a candidate for the CFO’s position and the vacancy shall be filled in September, the airline said.
SpiceJet had delayed announcing the results of its fourth quarter in 2021-22 due to a ransomware attack.
Total revenue from operations during the January-March quarter was Rs 1,865 crore, slightly lower than Rs 1,877 crore reported in the year-ago period.
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Similarly, revenue from operations during the April-June period stood at Rs 2,457 crore, more than double of Rs 1,090 crore in the same period a year ago.
“The industry has been witness to one of the most severe operating environments in the recent past which impacted the progress and recovery made in Q3FY2022.
Record high ATF prices and depreciating rupee were the major contributors,” Ajay Singh, company’s chairman and managing director, said in a statement.
The airline said that aviation turbine fuel prices rose around 105% in April-June compared to the same quarter last year, which impacted its financial performance. Passenger revenue per available seat-kilometre (RASK) rose by 80% in April-June compared to the same quarter last year, while passenger RASK rose only 11% in January-March compared to a year ago period.
Similarly, available seat miles (ASKM) rose 11% y-o-y in January-March while yields improved 5%. The airline did not share its ASKM and yields for the April-June quarter.
The net loss after excluding forex restatement impact came in at Rs 420 crore for the June quarter. The airline incurred a one-time exceptional adjustment of `259 crore on account of a settlement with Boeing.
On earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (Ebitda) basis, SpiceJet reported a loss of Rs 379 crore in April-June. However, on an earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortisation and rent (Ebitdar) basis, the company reported a profit of Rs 57 crore in April-June.
SpiceJet said it has the highest passenger load factor amongst all airlines in the country.
“Our average domestic load factor for the quarter ending March 31, 2022 was 83.3% while for FY2022 it was 80.4%. SpiceJet had the highest PLF of 86.43% in Q1FY2023,” the airline stated.
The airline’s employee cost in January-March fell to Rs 19.43 crore, while employee cost came in at Rs 21.63 crore for April-June. The airlines employee cost stood at `21.32 crore in the January-March quarter a year ago.
SpiceJet is looking at raising funds to stay afloat. “We are optimistic about our future and our continued recovery and in order to achieve our future plans, the board has mandated fresh capital issuance and the company will be shortly engaging with investment bankers for a potential raise of up to $200 million,” Singh said. SpiceJet is also said to be in talks with potential investors for a likely stake sale in the airline. SpiceJet’s promoter Singh and his family hold 59.4% stake in the airline.
