Higher load, yield boost SpiceJet net 16% for 10th qtr in row (Eds: Updating with additional information)

The second largest low-cost carrier SpiceJet today reported its 10th straight quarterly profit with a near 16 per cent rise in net at Rs 172.7 crore for three months through June helped by higher load factor leading to a nine per cent rise in yields.
The airline attributed the better set of numbers of lack of any airpockets which it had to struggle with in the past many quarters.
"We did not have a baggage of the previous quarters when some thing or the other was coming up. We did not have the factors like the demonetisation. The performance is better as we didn't have the problems that we had in the past," airline's chief financial officer Kiran Koteshwar told PTI in a post-earnings concall.

Koteshwar said total income rose to Rs 1,889.70 crore from Rs 1,543.96 crore a year ago, while expenses jumped to Rs 1,717.03 crore.
The airline said it has been maintaining over 90 per cent load factor the for the past 27 months with the reporting
three months period clocking 93 per cent.

"With the tenth successive profitable quarters, we remain firmly on track for long-term growth strategy," chairman Ajay Singh said and described the three months to June as an "eventful quarter".
Koteshwar said the bottomline growth came in despite fuel price jumping 30 per cent to Rs 38 a litre as a 2 per cent improvement in the ancillary revenues and better aircraft utilisation boosted the yields.

"We should see some more traction in our ancillary revenue going forward as the airline will be launching a whole range of products onboard through trade partnerships," he said, adding ancillary revenue has grown to 17 per cent from 6 per cent in the last two years.
He also said their average fares have been much higher than the rivals during the reporting three months. At an average price of Rs 4,381 a ticket, the airline had the highest yield per passenger for its Boeing fleet, which though is marginally lower than the industry leader Indigo.
On better aircraft utilisation he said at 13.5 hrs the airline had the highest aircraft utilisation for the Boeing fleet and at 11.5 hrs for the Q400 fleet, in the industry.

The airline, which today announced two new services on the regional connectivity scheme, plans to add around six Boeing 737 Next Generation aircraft during the third and fourth quarters besides adding two more Bombardier Q400s.
The airline ill start services to Kanpur, Adampur and Jaisalmer under the Udan scheme in Q2. Under first phase of the RCS, the airline was awarded 11 routes.
It had launched flights on the Udan routes of Mumbai- Porbandar-Mumbai, while the Hyderabad-Pondicherry-Hyderabad route is scheduled from August 16. In the reporting quarter it increased its regional capacity by 20 per cent by adding three Q400s to its fleet.

On the RCS, Koteshwar said regional connectivity gives the airline a very big advantage because it gives regional routes and as we move forward, regional will be a key part of the business.
It can be noted that earlier this year, the carrier placed an order for up to 205 Boeing aircraft valued at around USD 22 billion. Besides, the airline also has an order for 20 737 Max 10 planes worth USD 4.7 billion and 20 conversions from the previous order have also been placed. In addition, it has ordered up to 50 Q400 turboprop planes with Bombardier.
Its shares declined over 5 per cent to Rs 119.05 on BSE whose Sensex slipped for the fourth day in a row falling 0.73 per cent.