IndiGo reports Q1 loss at Rs 2,844 crore, revenue dips 92% YoY to Rs 767 cr

The company said closure of scheduled operations till May 24, 2020 and lower capacity deployment thereafter on account of Covid-19 significantly impacted the quarterly results

InterGlobe Aviation-owned IndiGo airline on Wednesday reported standalone net loss of Rs 2,844.3 crore for June quarter of FY21 (Q1FY21), compared to profit of Rs 1,203 crore clocked in the previous-year quarter. On a quarterly basis, the loss widened 226.5 per cent from Rs 871 crore incurred in the March quarter of FY20.

“Closure of scheduled operations till May 24, 2020 and lower capacity deployment thereafter on account of Covid-19, significantly impacted the quarterly results. lndiGo reports net loss of Rs 2,844.3 crore,” said the airline in a statement. The loss before tax stood at Rs 2,842.6 crore for Q1FY21.

The numbers missed analysts' expectations, who had factored-in a net loss of Rs 797 crore for the quarter. The most conservative estimate had seen the net loss at Rs 2,673 crore. READ HERE WHAT ALAYSTS EXPECTED
 

The Gurugram-based airline’s revenue from operations came in at Rs 766.7 crore for the quarter under revenue, down 91.8 per cent year-on-year (YoY), from Rs 9,420.1 crore reported in Q1FY20. It declined 90.7 per cent from revenue of Rs 8,299.1 crore earned in Q4FY20. Analysts at Edelweiss Securities had expected the revenue to come in at Rs 2,954.2 crore.

Including other income of Rs 377.1 crore, total revenue came in at Rs 1,143.8 crore, down 88.3 per cent YoY, from Rs 9,786.9 crore reported in Q1FY20.
 

“Several state governments continue to restrict flight operations which impact our operations. As a result, our revenues were materially impacted during this period. Government allowed partial resumption of flights from 25th May 2020 and we resumed with much fewer flights,” it said. 
 

EBITDAR (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, amortisation, and rent costs) loss came in at Rs 1,421.2 crore, down 151.2 per cent YoY, from Rs 2,778.5 crore in the June quarter of the previous fiscal. The EBITDAR margin was (-) 29.5 per cent.

Operational metrics

The airline's ASK (Available Seat Kilometers) -- a measure of passenger carrying capacity. -- came in at 2.1 billion, down 91 per cent YoY from 23.3 billion. Besides, the RPK (revenue passenger kilometer), which shows the number of kilometers traveled by paying passengers, tanked 93.8 per cent YoY to 1.3 billion from 20.7 billion.

The passenger load factor (PLF) slipped from 88.9 per cent to 61.3 per cent. 
 

Cash and Cash Equivalents
 

At the end of the June quarter of FY21, the airline’s cash and cash equivalents stood at Rs 18,449.8 crore, as against Rs 17,337.1 crore at the end of June quarter of FY20. Of this, free cash reserve was Rs 7,527.6 crore.
 

“We have taken steps to reduce our unit costs and increase our liquidity by making our fleet more efficient with continuing to substitute older CEO aircraft with NEO's, prioritizing flying with our NEOs over older CEO, putting on hold discretionary expenses, deferring certain capital expenditures, etc. In order to sustain operations, we also had to take actions to cut employee costs through pay cuts, leave without pay and reduction in workforce,” the airline said.
 

The debt, on the other hand, stood at Rs 23,551.6 crore, the financial statements show. 
 

“Airlines have been financially bleeding with a monthly net cash burn of over Rs 500 crore for IndiGo, as per our estimate. The first set of measures undertaken by the company such as pay cuts, leave without pay and various other cost initiatives were clearly not enough to off-set the decline in revenues. The market leader has now decided to layoff a tenth of its workforce. As the cash reserves dwindle (Rs 8,930 crore unrestricted as at Mar’20), IndiGo will have to resize its business (current fleet strength at 250) and re-align costs in tandem,” analysts at JM Financial had written in their results preview note.
 

Fleet size
 

For the quarter ended June 2020, IndiGo has reported fleet of 274 aircraft including 123 A320ceos, 108 A320neos, 18 A321 neo and 25 ATRs, leading to a net increase of 12 aircraft during the quarter.