SpiceJet's first quarter net loss at Rs.124 crore

Budget carrier SpiceJet reported a net loss of Rs 124.10 crore for the first quarter of the current fiscal, down from a net profit of Rs.50.56 crore in the corresponding period of last year.

The company said that during the quarter it incurred restructuring and certain one-off costs consisting of Rs.133 crore relating to restructuring of the network and fleet along with capacity rationalisation that required early aircraft lease terminations and associated expenses for four aircraft.

"As a result of the above restructuring and certain one-off costs totalling Rs.133 crore, SpiceJet reported a net loss of Rs.124 cr for the quarter ending June 2014," SpiceJet said in a regulatory filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) which came late Thursday night.

The company's total income in the quarter under review came down by 0.61 percent at Rs.1,691.04 crore from Rs 1,701.54 crore posted in the corresponding period of last year.

The low cost carrier (LCC) said its expenses in the quarter under review rose by 8.58 percent at Rs.1,782.95 crore from Rs.1,641.93 crore.

The company said it achieved an operating profit of Rs.9 crore for the quarter (not considering restructuring and certain one-off costs) despite an adverse year-over-year impact on expenses of fuel price and foreign exchange rate.

"Positive operating result and share gain despite macro-economic and industry conditions that remained challenged in terms of GDP growth, natural demand, exchange rate, fuel cost, and demand/supply balance, in a quarter which saw addition of capacity and entrance of new player."

The company's fuel cost during the quarter under review grew by 10.47 percent at Rs.773.32 crore from Rs.739.83 crore spent on fuel in the first quarter of last fiscal.

However, airport charges like parking, housing and land (PHL) fees came down to Rs.108.25 crore from Rs.114.57 crore paid as charges in the previous fiscal.

The LCC, as a result of high load factors coupled with increased aircraft utilization and strong operational performance, emerged in July as the second largest airline in India by passenger share for domestic travel, despite reduction in capacity deployed.

In July 2014, SpiceJet achieved a load factor of 79.5 percent, which is the highest in its history for the month of July.