Committed to turnaround; reduced debt in Q1: Jet

Jet Airways on Tuesday said that it has reduced the overall debt burden during the first quarter of 2018-19 and is committed towards a turnaround strategy.

According to Jet Airways Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer Amit Agarwal, the airline was able to reduce its debt by utilising some of the liquidity worth $300 million received from "lease incentives".

Agarwal revealed this in an analysts call on Tuesday.

Besides the airline will go ahead with various cost-cutting steps and funding options, including infusion of capital, monetisation of assets, including the company's stake in its "Loyalty programme".

On Monday, Jet Airways Group reported a net loss of Rs 1,326 crore for the first quarter of 2018-19 from a net profit of Rs 58 crore earned during the corresponding period of the previous fiscal.

On a standalone basis, the airline's net loss stood at Rs 1,323 crore from a net profit of Rs 53.5 crore reported for the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal.

The airline said that an increase in Brent fuel price by more than 36 per cent, along with a weak rupee and a mismatch between high fuel prices and low fares, primarily undermined its financial performance during the quarter under review.

The company on August 9 had deferred to consider the financial results due to "pending closure of certain matters".

--IANS

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