IndiGo's Aditya Ghosh gets Rs 21-cr incentive after record profit

In last fiscal, IndiGo made an annual profit of Rs 1,989 cr, which was also its highest ever profit

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IndiGo’s President and whole-time Director Aditya Ghosh took home Rs 27 crore in salary, including Rs 20.9 crore in one-time incentive for the financial year ended March 31, 2016.

India’s most profitable airline was also generous in rewarding its 12,000-plus employees who received an average 42 per cent rise in remuneration in FY16.

Ghosh received the incentive “in recognition of his efforts towards the growth and success of the company during the financial year ending March 31, 2016,” the airline said in its annual report.

Ghosh earned Rs 27 crore in gross salary and 700,000 shares in stock options in FY16. In FY15, he had received a gross remuneration of Rs 3.7 crore, according to the airline’s initial public offering prospectus.

IndiGo was listed on the stock exchange last year and posted over 52 per cent rise in profit in FY16. The Gurgaon-based airline’s profit rose 52.6 per cent to Rs 1,989 crore in FY16, against Rs 1,304 crore in FY15. This was the airline’s eighth consecutive annual profit.

A lawyer by training, Ghosh served as a general counsel for IndiGo’s parent InterGlobe Enterprises before taking over as the airline president in 2008.

In the last financial year, there was 20.1 per cent increase in median remuneration of employees and 42.8 per cent rise in average remuneration of the employees. The airline said the 42 per cent rise in remuneration was linked to business and financial performance of the company and driven by achievement in annual corporate goals.

IndiGo is the fastest-growing airline and it increased its capacity and passengers flown by 21 per cent and 31 per cent, respectively, in FY16. Passenger revenue grew 14.4 per cent in FY16. Its market share has risen from 29 per cent at the start of 2014 to 38 per cent now.

“The Indian aviation sector is still in a nascent stage with the new civil aviation policy promising to further strengthen the foundation for exceptional growth in the coming years. As more new aircraft are delivered, we shall increase routes and frequency in the existing regions and expand into new regions. A new fleet of more fuel-efficient A320Neo will help us further reduce our costs,” Ghosh wrote in a letter to shareholders.