Covid-19 impact: IndiGo posts quarterly loss of Rs 1,147 crore

IndiGo airline on Saturday posted a net loss of Rs 1,147.2 crore in the quarter ended 31 March 2021, as the pandemic kept air travel below normal levels. The airline had posted a loss of Rs 870.8 crore during the same quarter a year earlier and Rs 620 crore in the previous quarter.

New Delhi: InterGlobe Aviation Limited-owned IndiGo airline on Saturday posted a net loss of Rs 1,147.2 crore in the quarter ended 31 March 2021, as the pandemic kept air travel below normal levels. The airline had posted a loss of Rs 870.8 crore during the same quarter a year earlier and Rs 620 crore in the previous quarter.

IndiGo's revenue from operations fell 25 per cent to Rs 6,223 crore as compared to Rs 8,299 crore in the corresponding quarter of the last year.

"This has been a very difficult year with our revenues slumping hard due to Covid, showing some signs of recovery during the period December to February and then slumping again with the second Covid wave," said IndiGo CEO Ronojoy Dutta in a statement.

While we have seen a sharp decline in revenues in March through May, we are encouraged by the modest revenue improvements starting last week of May and continuing through June, he added.

The airline reported a net loss of Rs 5,806.4 crore for the financial year 2020-21 as against a loss of Rs 233 crore in the previous year. InterGlobe Aviation Limited informed the regulators that company's revenue from operations declined by 59.1 per cent during the fiscal to 14,640.6 crore as against Rs 35,756 crore in FY20.

IndiGo's fuel costs rose 67 per cent to Rs 1,914 crore during Q4FY21 as compared to Rs 1,142 crore in the preceding quarter (Q3FY21).

"We see this pandemic as a period of great trial for both our shareholders and our employees. We are focusing all our efforts and all our energies to strengthen the foundations and the pillars of Indigo so that we emerge from this trial significantly stronger structurally and even more customer responsive than ever before," Ronojoy Dutta said.

As of March 31, 2021, IndiGo has a fleet of 285 aircraft including 100 A320ceos, 120 A320neos, 39 A321neo and 26 ATRs, with a net reduction of 2 aircraft during the quarter.

Aviation consultancy firm CAPA India on Thursday said that Indian airlines are likely to register a consolidated loss of about $4.1 billions during the financial year 2022, similar to the losses recorded during FY2021, due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

CAPA India predicted that airlines may require almost $5 billions in recapitalisation in FY22, out of which $1.1 billion in the pipeline in the form of IPOs, QIPs and other instruments.