SpiceJet reports a net profit of INR 73.2 crore in Q3 FY 2020

• Reports a 47% growth in Operational Income against the same quarter last year
• Launched 65 new domestic flights
• Likely return of the 737 MAX in mid-2020 to boost operations and profitability

For the quarter ended December 2019

• Airline stand-alone profit of INR 115 crore
• Capacity (in terms of Seat Kilometer) up by 59%
• Profits grow by 33% over Q3 FY2019
• Net profit of INR 73.2 crore
• Profit of INR 659.2 crore on EBITDA basis
• Interim offer of compensation received from the Boeing Company

Key highlights

• Added six planes to its fleet
• Fleet size grew to 119 as on December 31, 2019
• Average fare up 4% over Q3 FY2019
• Passenger Load Factor of 91.9% in Q3
• Operating 49 daily UDAN flights
• Freighter fleet grew to five B737s

Current Highlights

• Record Passenger Load Factor of over 90% for 56 successive months
• Current fleet size stands at 119 with 600 average daily flights
• Signed definitive codeshare agreement with Emirates. Signed an MoU with Gulf Air to explore greater cooperation including a codeshare agreement

GURUGRAM, February 14, 2020: SpiceJet, the country’s favourite carrier, reported a profit of INR 73.2 crore for the quarter ending December 31st, 2019 as against INR 55.1 crore in the same quarter last year. Stand-alone profit from Air Transport Services (airline) was INR 115 crore. Further, this profit is after a non-cash forex charge on account of IND-AS116 of INR 75.9 crore without which the profit would have been INR 190.9 crore. The airline also recorded a 47% rise in the third quarter operational revenue to INR 3,647.1 crore as against INR 2,486.8 crore for the same quarter last year as the airline added more destinations and expanded its fleet of passenger and freighter aircraft.

For the same comparative period, expenses were INR 3,844.1 crore as against INR 2,475.8 crore. On an EBITDA basis, SpiceJet reported a profit of INR 659.2 crore. On an EBITDAR basis, the company reported a profit of INR 761.6 crore.

Despite the challenges that the airline is facing in terms of additional costs incurred, compounded by the continued grounding of its 737 MAX aircraft, the airline’s capacity has grown by 59% in 2019. SpiceJet, yet again, excelled on operational parameters to report the highest passenger load factor amongst all airlines in the country all through the quarter. The average domestic load factor for the quarter was 91.9%. SpiceJet has recorded over 90% load factor for 56 successive months.

Ajay Singh, Chairman and Managing Director, SpiceJet said, “SpiceJet has done remarkably well this quarter, despite a substantial profit hit from the grounding of the MAX aircraft, which has impacted our operations and led to additional costs. Despite facing an unprecedented crisis following the grounding of the MAX in March last year, SpiceJet grew by close to 60% in 2019 demonstrating its ability to stand up to a crisis.”

“We were expecting the MAX to return to service by January 2020 but that hasn’t happened. The continued grounding and the delay in its return to service has undoubtedly hit our growth plans adversely and resulted in inefficient operations and increased costs. That said, SpiceJet, expects to grow profitably while maintaining a tight control over costs and we look forward to an exciting 2020.”

Key business updates

During the quarter, SpiceJet signed a definitive codeshare agreement with Emirates and signed a MoU with Gulf Air for interline and codeshare agreements.

Between October and December 2019, the airline announced 65 new domestic flights which included two UDAN flights. The airline added Rajkot as its 54th domestic destination and the domestic network expansion was laid out with a special focus on regional connectivity besides enhancing connectivity between metros and non-metros. SpiceJet became the first and only carrier in the country to launch non-stop flight services on the Ahmedabad–Aurangabad, Pune-Jodhpur and Chennai-Durgapur sectors. Besides, it also introduced new flights on the Mumbai-Jodhpur, Chennai-Vishakhapatnam, Vijayawada-Vishakhapatnam, Hyderabad-Aurangabad and Surat-Udaipur sectors among others and enhanced operations on sectors like Bengaluru-Chennai-Bengaluru (6thfrequency), Bengaluru-Vijayawada-Bengaluru (4th frequency) and Mumbai-Mangalore-Mumbai (2nd frequency).

Freighter fleet increased to five with scheduled services being operated on Mumbai–Sharjah, Hong Kong–Kolkata–Bengaluru–Hong Kong, Delhi-Mumbai, Chennai-Delhi–Mumbai–Bengaluru–Chennai sectors. In addition, the Company also operated charter and non-scheduled services on domestic and international sectors. The cargo movement included livestock and perishables to the Middle East.