IndiGo owner posts record fall in quarterly net profit on high fuel costs

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - InterGlobe Aviation, owner of India's largest airline IndiGo, on Tuesday posted its biggest ever fall in quarterly net profit mainly due to rising fuel costs, according to a statement to the stock exchange.

Net profit for the October-December quarter fell to 4.87 billion rupees ($71.8 million) compared with 6.5 billion rupees last year. Total income from operations rose 16 percent to 49.86 billion rupees.

"We have reported yet another profitable quarter despite lower yields and higher fuel prices," company president Aditya Ghosh said in the statement.

Fuel costs during the fiscal third quarter rose 43 percent to 16.71 billion rupees from the year ago period, InterGlobe said in its statement. During the quarter, global oil prices rose about 16 percent to $56.82 per barrel as of Dec. 30, Reuters data showed.

IndiGo, which flies about one in three passengers in the country's booming air travel market, plans to increase its fleet to 133 aircraft by the end of March from 126 aircraft at the end of December.

"We will continue to grow our network with a view to maximising our long term profitability," Ghosh said.

The company said available seat kilometre, a key measure of an airline's capacity, is expected to increase by 25 percent in the January-March quarter.

($1 = 67.8500 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Aditi Shah, additional reporting by Gaurav Dogra in Bengaluru; Editing by Keith Weir)