INDIGO POSTS ITS HIGHEST EVER LOSS AT ₹3,174 CR

NEW DELHI: InterGlobe Aviation Ltd, the parent of India’s top domestic airline IndiGo, posted its biggest-ever quarterly loss, hit by the devastating second wave of the pandemic and continued restrictions on air travel. Foreign exchange losses and lower interest income also contributed to IndiGo’s weak earnings in the three months through June. It was the airline’s 6th consecutive quarterly loss. Loss widened to ₹3,174.20 crore in June quarter from ₹2,844.3-cr a year earlier.

Total revenue surged 177% to ₹3,170.25 crore, mainly because scheduled flight services were banned between March and May last year by the government to contain the pandemic’s first wave. Expenses climbed 59% to ₹6,344.43 crore in the June quarter, with fuel costs surging 854% to ₹1,215.9 crore.

The results missed analysts’ estimates. A Bloomberg poll of four analysts estimated a consolidated loss of ₹1,935 crore, and five forecast the carrier to report a consolidated revenue of ₹3,581.40 crore in June quarter.

“Needless to say, we are disappointed with the results,” said IndiGo’s chief executive Ronojoy Dutta in a post-results call with analysts. He said the airline incurred a foreign exchange loss of ₹290 crore during the quarter and lost an additional ₹150 crore on lower interest income.

The second wave greatly impacted the quarterly performance, Dutta said, adding IndiGo’s daily cash burn increased to ₹33.4 crore in the June quarter from ₹19 crore in the March quarter amid a sharp contraction in passenger traffic.