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GURUGRAM, November 14, 2018: SpiceJet, the country’s favourite carrier,
recorded a 4% rise in second quarter operational revenue to INR 1880.9 Crore as it
added more destinations and expanded its fleet of passenger and freight aircraft.
Total income was INR 1,910.3 Crore for the reported quarter as against INR 1,842.0 Crore
in the same quarter last year. For the same comparative period, expenses were INR
2,299.7 Crore as against INR 1,736.7 Crore; EBITDA before exceptional items were INR
310.4 Crore (loss) as against INR 168 Crore; EBITDAR before exceptional items were INR
32.7 Crore (loss) as against INR 409.6 Crore.
Expenses per ASKM increased by 25% on account of 48% increase in ATF and 10% increase in
exchange rate. The carrier reported a net loss of INR 389.4 crore during July-September
2018 quarter on account of rising fuel costs and Rupee depreciation versus a profit of
INR 105.3 crore in the same quarter a year ago.
As an impact of strong cost pressures faced during this quarter, the Company paid an
amount of INR 272 crore on account of increase in cost of Aviation Turbine Fuel, INR 78
crore on account of Rupee depreciation and an amount of INR 46 crore on account of
forex losses on its obligations as compared to Q2 2017. Revenue performance remained
disciplined and fell by only 1% in spite of severe competition.
SpiceJet yet again excelled on operational parameters to report the highest passenger
load factor amongst all airlines in the country all through the quarter. The average
domestic load factor for the quarter was 93.5%. SpiceJet has recorded the industry’s
highest load factor for 42 successive months.
The company is all set to take deliveries of 10 more Boeing 737 MAX aircraft in Q3 and
up to 8 MAX aircraft have been planned for inductions in Q4 of FY2019. Further 4 Q400
aircraft shall be inducted during Q3FY 2019 and up to 4 Q400s are planned for
inductions in Q4 of FY 2019. With the crude prices taking a fall in this quarter, the
profitable performance is expected to pick up during the next 2-3 quarters.
Ajay Singh – Chairman and Managing Director, SpiceJet said, “While it
has been a challenging quarter for the entire industry, SpiceJet has managed to handle
the sector headwinds well thanks to our aggressive network expansion, emphasis on cost
reduction, induction of fuel efficient aircraft and the undying competitive spirit of
our employees.”
“SpiceJet has been on a spectacular growth journey and this quarter, in particular, has
been very special for us. From inducting our new 737 MAX and Q400 planes to launching a
dedicated air cargo service the foundation for our aggressive expansion while keeping
the costs under check has been laid. With higher fares, the fall in global crude prices
and currency appreciation we expect the operating environment to improve
significantly.”
SpiceJet has begun inducting the fuel efficient Boeing 737 MAX 8 airplane from the mega
order it signed with Boeing for up to 205 aircraft in 2017 worth $22 billion. The
airline has also begun taking deliveries of the brand new 90-seater Q400 aircraft for
which it was the launch customer. The new airplanes have been designed to dramatically
reduce fuel and engineering costs, while cutting down on noise pollution and greenhouse
gas emissions.
The quarter also witnessed the airline launch its dedicated air cargo services and
inducting its first freighter aircraft.
In its endeavour to go green, SpiceJet, became the first and only airline to
successfully conduct India’s first-ever BioJet fuel powered flight. Undertaking
operations using a blend of 75% of aviation turbine fuel (ATF) and 25% of BioJet fuel,
SpiceJet aims to potentially reduce carbon footprint by 15%.
Driving the national agenda of UDAN, SpiceJet, during the quarter, announced ten new
UDAN flights and started operations on the Delhi-Kanpur sector. SpiceJet now operates
25 UDAN flights on the routes of Mumbai-Porbandar, Mumbai-Kandla-Mumbai,
Hyderabad-Puducherry-Hyderabad, Jaipur-Jaisalmer-Jaipur, Chennai-Hubli-Chennai,
Hyderabad- Hubli- Hyderabad, Delhi- Adampur- Delhi, and Delhi -Kanpur- Delhi, Kolkata –
Pakyong - Kolkata, Delhi – Kishangarh - Delhi, Pakyong – Guwahati - Pakyong, Surat –
Jaisalmer – Surat, and Ahmedabad Jaisalmer Ahmedabad.
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