SpiceJet returns to profit after 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 seven quarters of losses after cutting costs.

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

The return to profit came after SpiceJet benefited from a series of one-off gains including renegotiating contracts and an insurance claim.

Excluding those exceptional gains and losses, SpiceJet made a marginal operating loss, Chief Operating Officer Sanjiv Kapoor told reporters after the results.

"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.

SpiceJet has reduced the size of its fleet, lowering costs further, and revenue fell by about 50 percent from a year ago.

Kapoor said the airline, having cut its debts and paid most of its outstanding dues, would now look to rebuild the size of its fleet as it tries to win back customers.

The airline plans to acquire seven more Boeing aircraft to add its current 19 by the end of this year, he said.

SpiceJet's 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, editing by David Evans)