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Gurugram, May 11, 2018: SpiceJet reported a quarterly profit of INR
46.1 Crore for the traditionally weak quarter ended March 31st, 2018, making it the
13th successive profitable quarter for the airline. Net profit for FY 2018 stood at INR
566.7 crore, making this the third successive year of profitable growth. For the
previous fiscal 2017, these were INR 41.6 Crore and INR 430.7 Crore respectively.
Operating revenues were at INR 2,029.3 crore for the reported quarter and INR 7,795.1
crore for the fiscal 2018. On an EBITDA basis, profit is INR 131 crore for the reported
quarter and INR 890.1 crore for the fiscal 2018. On an EBITDAR basis, the profit is INR
429 crore for the reported quarter and INR 1927 crore for the fiscal 2018.
“Despite rising fuel prices, SpiceJet continues to record profits and has recorded the
highest annual profit in its history. With the fuel efficient B737 MAX joining our
fleet in the coming months we will continue to expand at home and abroad and strive to
improve profitability and operating performance,” said Ajay Singh – CMD,
SpiceJet.
“SpiceJet, this month, celebrates 13 years of an incredible journey. From scripting one
of the biggest aviation turnarounds to three successive profitable years, record
aircraft orders, industry’s highest load factor, high on-time performance, the airline
has indeed come a long way and emerged as the country’s largest regional operator. I am
very pleased with the exceptional performance of my team,” he said.
The airline’s record of profitable growth comes on the back of its continued focus on
nurturing a healthy growth rate in its passenger traffic by adding capacitates on its
existing routes while identifying new destinations with pent-up demand across the
country. The Company has demonstrated a strong revenue performance backed by an
increase in yield and record load factor and as a result could absorb the significant
rise in fuel costs.
In Q4, there was an increase of 12.7 % in crude oil prices that impacted the bottom line
by approximately INR 81.4 crore. The Company registered an 8% increase in yield which
helped in maintaining operational profits.
In terms of operational parameters, SpiceJet had the best passenger load factor amongst
all airlines in the country during the quarter and the year. The average domestic load
factor for the quarter was 95.4 %, and for the year 94.7%. For three years in a row,
SpiceJet has flown with the highest load factors in the Indian aviation market and for
35 months in a row the loads have been in excess of 90%, a feat unparalleled globally.
The quarter also witnessed the airline ink a $12.5 billion agreement with CFM
International for the purchase of LEAP-1B engines to power its 155 Boeing 737 MAX
fleet, along with spare engines. This will enable a significant reduction in our engine
maintenance costs for our new Max fleet.
During 2017-18 fiscal, the airline has been at the forefront driving the national agenda
of UDAN, on-boarding five destinations across the country onto the national aviation
map including Kandla, Porbandar, Puducherry, Jaisalmer and Adampur. During the current
quarter, SpiceJet will start operations on some other UDAN sectors like Kanpur and
Hubli.
SpiceJet has been awarded 20 new sectors under the second round of UDAN. Some of the
exclusive routes awarded to SpiceJet include Delhi-Darbhanga, Mumbai-Darbhanga,
Delhi-Pakyong, Chennai-Tanjore, Delhi-Kishangarh among others.
Reiterating its commitment towards direct connectivity, SpiceJet announced a host of new
non-stop flights during the year giving a fresh impetus to leisure and business travel.
Internationally the airline launched a daily direct flight on the Ahmedabad-Bangkok
sector, besides on-boarding domestic destinations like Leh, Dibrugarh among others.
Key business updates
This upcoming fiscal 2019 will witness an induction of 19 737 MAX aircraft which will
reduce the costs by 8-9% on this aircraft class as compared to the previous generation;
and 8 new generation Q400s with additional seating capacity which will improve the
overall operating economics of this aircraft by 15-18%.
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