SpiceJet reports $11.2 million net profit in Q1

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Budget airline SpiceJet Ltd reported on Tuesday a net profit of 718 million rupees ($11.2 million) for the three months ending June, after cutting costs and flying more passengers.

SpiceJet made a net loss of 1.24 billion rupees in the same quarter a year earlier.

India's second biggest budget carrier by market share, which last quarter made its first profit since 2013, is in the midst of a recovery plan after it almost collapsed late last year.

Under new Chairman Ajay Singh, the airline has cut routes - its capacity is down a third since last year - and costs.

 

It said on Tuesday that its load factor - the percentage of an airline's carrying capacity it has filled - rose to 89.8 percent in the quarter, a rise of almost 15 percent from last year.

Sustained profitability has eluded most of India's airlines for the last few years amid fierce competition for fares and high operating costs, despite the country's aviation market growing at one of the fastest rates worldwide.

SpiceJet shares jumped after news of the results, ending up 7.4 percent as the wider market <.BSESN> fell 0.4 percent.

($1 = 63.9400 rupees)

(Reporting by Tommy Wilkes; Editing by Prateek Chatterjee)