Jet Q2 loss at Rs 385 crore

Naresh Goyal-promoted Jet Airways today reported its biggest quarterly loss in three years on account of high fuel costs, loss-making international operations and the fall in the rupee against the dollar.

The airline made a loss of Rs 384.53 crore in the quarter ended September 30, compared to a profit of Rs 283.6 crore in the corresponding quarter last year.

However, the company said that the outlook for the October-December quarter was positive on account of lower crude oil prices, the onset of the peak travel season, route raionalisation, capacity reduction and the alliance with Kingfisher Airlines.

The biggest contributor to the loss were jet fuel prices, which have gone up 69 per cent compared to the same quarter of the previous year. As a result, the airline’s fuel bill accounted for 45 per cent of its total expenditure, up from 33 per cent in the last quarter.

The higher fuel bill offset the 71 per cent rise in net revenue of the airline to Rs 3,080 crore. The airline averted some losses on account of two fare hikes and an increase in fuel surcharge during the quarter.

Employee expenses, for which the airline had come under a lot of scrutiny after it announced and subsequently retracted the downsizing of 1,900 employees earlier this month, went up 25 per cent during the quarter to Rs 357 crore.

The airline made a loss of Rs 289 crore on its international operations which contribute about 50 per cent of the airline’s passenger revenue. About half of these losses came from two routes — Mumbai-Shanghai-San Francisco and Amritsar-London. Withdrawal of these flights by year-end will help Jet cut losses.