Net profit jumps 24% in September quarter as revenues rise 17% on higher passenger traffic
Low-frills airline IndiGo expects to add 18 aircraft to its present fleet of 118 by the end of this fiscal year, its parent company InterGlobe Aviation revealed in its latest financial results released on Tuesday.
Based on a large fleet, the airline also expects an increase of about 30% in capacity during the next two quarters.
IndiGo, which is the biggest customer for Airbus’s A320neo aircraft had in August slowed down its delivery to allow engine supplier to catch up on the production of upgraded engines.
The airline has placed an order for 430 fuel efficient A320neo aircraft.
A320neo is very important from the airline’s financial performance point of view, as it offers about 15-20% savings on aviation turbine fuel, which makes up for about 50% of the operating cost of the airlines in India.
The engine issues have been hampering the production and efforts are on to correct the engine start-up time.
The engine requires a delay in starting up so that it can reach the right operating temperature.
IndiGo posted a net profit of Rs 139.85 crore in the quarter ended September 30, 2016, a rise of around 24%, mainly aided by higher revenues emanating from growing demand. In comparison, the airline had declared a net profit of Rs 113.13 crore during the corresponding period last year.
Likewise, total revenue increased to Rs 4,166.93 crore during the latest quarter as compared to Rs 3,539.93 crore during the last year same period.
According to PTI, the no-frills carrier reported a higher profit despite total expenses going up to Rs 4,090.18 crore in the quarter
During the quarter, passenger revenues were Rs 3,597.88 crore, an increase of 18%, while ancillary revenues stood at Rs 558.41 crore, a rise of 17.7% compared with the same period last year.
“We are pleased to report another profitable quarter and traffic growth of 32.7%. At the same time, our unit cost excluding fuel has reduced by 9.7% despite operating in an inflationary environment,” said IndiGo whole-time director and president Aditya Ghosh.
Earlier this year, rival carrier GoAir, which is also banking heavily on the aircraft, had also doubled its A320neo order when it ordered 72 additional aircraft as part of its expansion plan. The airline in 2011 had already ordered 72 aircraft.
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