Jet posts record quarterly profit of Rs 467 crore

Lower fuel bill, better fleet utilisation contribute to profit; JetLite posts Rs 7.8-cr loss

Aided by low fuel costs and an increase in revenue Jet Airways posted a record Rs 467 crore consolidated profit in the third quarter of 2015-16. The airline’s consolidated profit had risen by Rs 3 crore in the corresponding period a year earlier. This is also the airline’s third consecutive profitable quarter. Its previous highest profit was Rs 361 crore in the fourth quarter of 2005-06.

The airline’s fuel bill declined 27 per cent to Rs 1,235 crore but all other non-fuel expenses such as lease rental, maintenance, employee costs and distribution expenses rose year-on-year. Overall, however, total expenses declined 1.3 per cent to Rs 4,946 crore.

Total income from operations on a standalone basis grew 7.7 per cent to Rs 5,443 crore as the airline improved its fleet utilisation and operated more flights.

The airline said increased capacity was equivalent to nine aircraft without actual fleet addition. Other operating income, which includes income from lease of aircraft, rose 13 per cent to Rs 419 crore, contributing to better performance. Domestic capacity (including its subsidiary JetLite) grew 14.6 per cent and the number of passengers flown was up 15 per cent on year-on-year basis. Passenger occupancy on domestic routes, however, fell marginally to 80.4 per cent from 81.9 per cent in the year-ago period and yields remained under pressure as industry-wide fares declined during the quarter. In international operations the capacity deployed rose 2.6 per cent while the number of passengers flown grew 5.1 per cent.

Codeshare traffic grew 28 per cent to over 530,000 as Jet enhanced its partnership with equity investor Etihad Airways and other airlines. Cramer Ball, Chief Executive Officer, Jet Airways, said, “The key achievements during the third quarter have been lower unit cost, excluding fuel, and higher aircraft utilisation resulting in additional capacity equivalent of nine 737 aircraft without any addition to the fleet.”

JetLite, however, continued to post weak numbers and made a loss of Rs 7.8 crore. Its result was better than the third quarter of the previous financial year when it had posted a Rs 60 crore loss.

Jet’s result was better than estimates on profit but lower on core passenger revenue. Bloomberg had estimated the airline would post a consolidated profit of Rs 334 crore. Etihad president and vice-chairperson of Jet Airways James Hogan said, “We are very satisfied with the operating and financial performance of Jet Airways that has resulted in record profit. We remain committed to providing solid support and driving further synergies between the two partners.”