JET AIRWAYS FY17 PROFIT SLUMPS 62.8% TO ₹438 CRORE

of Jet Airways (India) Ltd dipped by 62.81% for fiscal ending March compared year on year on the back of higher fuel prices, lower airfares, increased capacity and weakening demand from the key Gulf region.

The airline announced a profit of ₹438.45 crore for year ending March 2017 on Tuesday, down from ₹1,211.65 crore a year ago.

The airline’s total income rose to ₹23,669.91 crore from ₹22,906.06 crore the year before but expenses also rose to ₹23,279.71 crore from ₹21,852.13 crore the year before.

Quarterly profit too saw a sharp decline, falling to ₹36.80 crore in the quarter ending March from ₹397.16 crore in the same quarter a year earlier.

“The past year has been extremely challenging for both domestic and international markets,” chairman Naresh Goyal said in a statement, “Notwithstanding the growth in traffic in the domestic market, the downward pressure on yields continued despite rise in oil prices. We achieved positive results through our relentless effort to streamline operations, improve productivity and business performance, enabling us to reduce our debt by ₹1,902 crore during this year, despite weakening demand in certain international markets, especially Gulf.”

An analyst said the dip in profits was alarming.

“The significant drop in profits highlights profitability challenges and higher near term risks for Jet Airways,” said Kapil Kaul, South Asia CEO of consulting form CAPA.