SpiceJet reports net profit of Rs73.2cr in Q3FY20; stock jumps 7%

SpiceJet, the country’s favourite carrier, reported a net profit of Rs73.2cr for the quarter ending  December  31,  2019, as against  Rs55.1cr in the same quarter last year. This profit is after a non-cash forex charge on account of IND‐AS116 of Rs75.9cr without which the profit would have been  Rs149.1cr.

The stock is currently trading at Rs90.40, up by Rs5.7 or 6.73% from its previous closing of Rs84.70 on the BSE.

The airline also recorded a 47% rise in the third quarter operational revenue to Rs3,647.1cr as against Rs2,486.8cr 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 Rs3,844.1cr as against Rs2,475.8 cr. On an EBITDA basis, SpiceJet reported a profit of Rs659.2cr. On an EBITDAR  basis, the company reported a profit of Rs761.6 cr.

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 have undoubtedly hit our growth plans adversely and resulted in inefficient operations and increased costs. That said, SpiceJet, expects to grow profitably while maintaining tight  control over costs and we look forward to an exciting 2020.”