In discussion with Airbus about delay in aircraft delivery: IndiGo

Budget passenger carrier IndiGo on Monday said it is in discussions with Airbus about the delay in aircraft delivery.

IndiGo said this in a reply to a clarification sought by the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) on Monday, with regard to a media report claiming that the company has asked Airbus to compensate it for a delay in aircraft delivery.

According to the company, it has fully discharged its regulatory obligations in reporting the delay in delivery schedule.

"It is reiterated that our disclosure made on December 19, 2015 is comprehensive and fully compliant with the regulatory obligations required to be discharged," the company said in its reply to the BSE.

"We had intimated the stock exchanges about the receipt of intimation of a delay by Airbus in the delivery of aircraft. As is normal and routine in commercial engagement, since then, the company has naturally been in discussions with Airbus about the delay and revised delivery schedule."

The company elaborated that it continues to monitor the situation and there has been no reportable development or update on the issue other than already disclosed.

The low-cost carrier (LCC) had informed the BSE on December 19, 2015, that the delivery of the first aircraft of the new Airbus A320 Neos has been delayed owing to "industrial reasons".

That time, IndiGo's parent company InterGlobe Aviation said that it received an official notification from Airbus that the first of the fuel efficient A320 New Engine Options (Neos) scheduled to be delivered on December 30 has been delayed due to an "industrial reason".

"At this time IndiGo does not have clear visibility of its future A320 Neo delivery schedule and the potential for additional delays exist. We are looking at mitigating the potential shortfall in capacity through other options," the company had said in a regulatory filing on December 19, 2015.

The clarification assumes significance, as the company's scrip crashed by 19.10 percent on Friday.

Ironically, a day earlier, the company had reported a rise of 23.7 percent in its net profit for the third quarter (Q3) of the current fiscal.

Its net profit stood at Rs.657.28 crore from Rs.531.56 crore earned in the corresponding quarter of last fiscal.

On Monday, the company's scrip ended the day's trade down 6.79 percent at Rs.903 from its previous close of Rs.968.75 per equity share.