SpiceJet returns to first profit in seven quarters

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Low-cost carrier SpiceJet Ltd said on Thursday it made 225.2 million rupees ($3.53 million) in the three months to the end of March, returning to profitability after six quarters of losses.

The country's fourth-largest airline by market share, which almost collapsed in December before being bailed out, reported a 3.22 billion rupees net loss for the same period last year.

"These results indicate that a recovery is in progress, and is the first tangible evidence of the ongoing revival," Chairman Ajay Singh, who led a rescue package for the airline last year when it had run out of money, said in a statement.

The airline said it had focused on negotiating settlements and restructuring contracts to cut costs. SpiceJet has also reduced the size of its fleet, lowering costs further.

SpiceJet said earlier this month that it wants to raise more funding and start to rebuild the size of the fleet as it tries to win back customers. Its market share slumped to 9.4 percent in the January-March quarter, government data shows, down from 18.1 percent a year earlier.

($1 = 63.8100 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Tommy Wilkes; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu and David Holmes)