Kingfisher soars 8% ahead of board meet

Shares of Kingfisher Airlines today soared about 8% higher on the bourses, ahead of a board meeting of the company, being held in the midst of a financial turbulence engulfing the carrier.

The stock jumped 7.88% to Rs 21.20 on the BSE, while it was up 7.63% up at Rs 21.15 at the NSE in early morning trade.

It had hit an all-time low of Rs 17.55 on Friday amid concerns over its mounting debts and rising operating costs.

The airline's board was scheduled to meet today to take stock of the company's financial position.

At 1315 hours, the stock was trading 5.34% up at Rs 20.70 at the BSE.

Kingfisher had suffered a loss of Rs 1,027 crore in 2010-11 and is estimated to have debt of over Rs 7,000 crore.

Its shares are trading over 75% below its one-year peak level of Rs 90.40, scaled on November 10, 2010.

State Bank of India, one of the main lenders to the carrier, has said that Kingfisher would have to raise fresh equity to the tune of Rs 800-1,000 crore, if the banks were to consider a second restructuring of the existing debt or extending fresh advances.

Besides SBI, the lenders include ICICI Bank, IDBI Bank, Punjab National Bank, Bank of Baroda, Bank of India, UCO Bank, Oriental Bank of Commerce and State Bank of Mysore.

Together, these banks now hold a 23.4% stake in the airline.

The airline has cancelled several flights over the past few weeks.