IndiGo Q4 net down 25% on higher fuel costs; to buy $1.3-bn planes from ATR

If completed, the IndiGo plane deal would mark the biggest order for ATR in at least a decade

InterGlobe Aviation, owner of the country's largest airline IndiGo, posted a nearly 25 per cent fall in profits for fourth quarter in financial year 2016-17, hurt by rising fuel costs.

Net profit fell to Rs 440 crore ($68.04 million) in the quarter ended March 31, compared with Rs 584 crore a year earlier, the company said on Tuesday. 

Fuel costs during Q4 rose 71 per cent to Rs 1,751 crore from the year-ago period, InterGlobe said.

The company also said it had signed a term sheet with European Turboprop Maker Avions de Transport Regional G.I.E. (ATR) to buy 50 ATR 72-600 aircraft worth $1.3 billion.

ATR, which is jointly owned by Airbus and Italian company Leonardo, said the aircraft were set to start operations by the end of 2017.

If completed, the IndiGo plane deal would mark the biggest order for ATR, whose rivals include Bombardier, in at least a decade.

"Their decision further proves that our aircraft is the right tool to link communities and develop business throughout India," said ATR Chief Executive Christian Scherer, commenting on the provisional order with IndiGo.

IndiGo currently flies the Airbus A320-family jets and is one of the European planemaker's biggest customers.