Indigo Airlines said to launch Rs 2,500-cr IPO in June quarter: report

The low-cost carrier, India's largest by market share, is reported to be working on a public listing in the first quarter of FY2015-16

Low-cost carrier Indigo Airlines is preparing for a public listing in the April-June 2015 quarter to raise about Rs 2,500 crore, the Times of India newspaper reported Wednesday. 

The airline, which is India’s largest by market share, has consistently reported profits, is also expected to be profitable in the fiscal year ending March 2015. 

Indian commercial airlines have also had a reprieve of late due to all-time lows in crude prices, enabling them to save significantly on aviation fuel costs, which is the single largest operational expense. Some of the fuel savings, however, have been offset by heavily discounted tickets offered by airlines to try and increase passenger load and market share. 

However, private airlines Jet Airways and SpiceJet, both of which are listed, continue to bleed money, while debt-addled Kingfisher Airlines has closed operations for close to three years now, with no signs of resuscitation by either promoter Vijay Mallya or any new investors. 

Indian markets have been on a rise since late last year, with the BSE Sensex breaching the 29,000 mark, driven largely by expectations of reforms from the Narendra Modi-led government and two surprise interest rate cuts by the Reserve Bank of India. 

Indigo has been preparing for the IPO since last year when it restructured its shareholding to become eligible for foreign direct investment (FDI), the newspaper reported.