IndiGo shares slip below IPO price

Carrier raised Rs 3,000 cr at Rs 765 per share in end-October

InterGlobe Aviation shares on Wednesday slipped below their initial public offering (IPO) price, before recouping some losses. Shares of the company, which operates the country’s most-profitable airline IndiGo, fell to a low of Rs 750 in intra-day trade, two per cent below its issue price.

IndiGo’s IPO had raised Rs 3,000 crore at Rs 765 a share in end-October. Shares of the company ended at Rs 771, down 2.2 per cent on the National Stock Exchange.

IndiGo shares, after climbing to Rs 1,395 earlier this year, are currently 44 per cent off their peak.

The shares hit a downward spiral after the airline posted its December 2015 quarter numbers, which were below analysts’ expectations. IndiGo had reported net profit of Rs 660 crore compared to Street estimates of Rs 720 crore. Higher employee costs and rentals weighed on the firm’s performance. The weak results coupled with the delay in deliveries of Airbus A320neo aircraft saw analysts slashing the earnings estimates for 2015-16 and 2017-18 by 40 per cent and 20 per cent, respectively. The fuel-efficient A320neo planes, which were to be delivered by December 2015, were to boost the company’s operating performance.

Currently, three analysts have a ‘sell’ rating on the stock and seven have a ‘buy’ with consensus 12-month price target of Rs 1,250, according to Bloomberg.

"We cut our earnings for FY16 by 25% to factor in actual 9MFY16 results and for FY17/FY18 by about 18% to factor in A320neo delays and higher employee costs. We believe that any positive news on aircraft deliveries will be a positive trigger for the stock," said a recent report by Motilal Oswal.