Losses continue, but recovery around

For the quarter ending June 2020, SpiceJet reported a net loss of `593.4 crore compared to a net profit of `261.7 crore in the same period last year. However, the airline recorded the industry’s highest domestic load factor of 66.4 per cent. Ajay Singh, Managing Director, SpiceJet, shares more details…

Manas Dwivedi

Operating revenue of SpiceJet during Q1 2021 was Rs514.7 crore as against Rs3,002.1 crore in the same quarter last year. For the same comparative period, operating expenses were Rs1303.2 crore as against Rs2,887.2 crore. On an EBITDA basis, loss was Rs11 crore for the reported quarter as against profit of Rs747.5 crore for the corresponding quarter last year. On an EBITDAR basis, the profit was Rs13.5 crore for the reported quarter as against profit of Rs812.1 crore for the same quarter last year. The present operating environment though, on account of COVID-19, does not reflect the true comparison of the current results with those of the corresponding quarter last year.

Ajay Singh, Chairman and Managing Director, SpiceJet, says, “This is the worst-ever crisis to hit the aviation sector, but I am pleased that SpiceJet continues to innovate and outperform the industry. Flight operations were suspended for most part of the quarter and the partial resumption of flights initially and the weak demand thereafter was a reminder of the significant problems that this pandemic has resulted in.”

“As expected, Team SpiceJet showed remarkable resilience to deal with a crisis, once again. Our performance during the last six months clearly signifies our positive attitude and our ability to find opportunity in adversity. This has seen us quickly bounce back with industry-best load factors and emerge as India’s number one cargo company. I am confident that as more and more states ease travel restrictions and business activity gets back to normal, there will be significant improvement in the operating environment for airlines, and we are witnessing some early encouraging signs towards recovery. I expect our cargo business to continue to expand in the coming quarters. I am also encouraged by the progress made in the re-entry of Boeing’s MAX aircraft into service,” he adds.  In terms of operational parameters, SpiceJet had the best passenger load factor amongst all airlines in the country during the quarter. The average domestic load factor for the quarter was 66.4% and the airline maintained its market share of above 16% despie the impact of COVID-19.