Jet Airways posts Rs 83 cr profit in Q2

Jet Airways made consolidated net profit of Rs 83 crore in second quarter of FY16 as against a loss of Rs 43 crore in same period last year on the back of passenger and revenue growth and lower fuel costs. The airline said it made a profit in second quarter after a gap of eight years and this is also its second consecutive profitable quarter.

Jet Airways made a standalone profit of Rs 87.5 crore in Q2. Exlcuding Rs 45.5 crore provision (on account of loss in subsidiary JetLite), the profit would have been Rs 132.5 crore. JetLite however continued to show a negative result but it reduced its loss to Rs 50 crore.  Thus, Jet Airways said its consolidated net profit for the quarter was Rs 83 crore.

As has been the company practice Jet Airways releases separate standalone and subsidiary JetLite results and does not share a consolidated profit and loss statement to the stock exchange or its investors.

Consolidated revenue grew to 8.1% to Rs 5,504 crore while passengers flown increased 26.3% to 6.37 million in Q2FY16 over the same period last year. Domestic airlines have been reporting an increase in passenger loads due to 10-15% decline in fares and industry wide loads have been 79.5% in July-September quarter as against 74.7% in Q2FY15.

The airline was also helped by decline in jet fuel costs and its standalone fuel bill declined 27.5% to Rs 1,336 crore. Total expenses rose just one% to Rs 5,095 crore. The expenses included a provision of Rs 175 crore towards estimated penalties towards delayed tax deducted at source.

The airline's aircraft utilisation increased nearly 10% to 12.6 hours daily and capacity and passenger growth in domestic market was higher than industry growth, the airline said. In the international business the airline registered a 6.6% growth in capacity and a 9.7% growth in passengers. “This improvement is largely the result of optimizing the network to enable tighter integration between domestic and international networks, enhanced synergies with partner carriers and improved operational performance,” the airline said in a statement.

Cramer Ball, chief executive officer, Jet Airways said: “It is encouraging to report a profit in the second quarter, which is traditionally a lean season for the aviation sector. While the robust competition in the Indian aviation sector continues to put pressure on yields, we have continued to make progress by focusing on improving operational efficiency throughout our business. The growth in passengers flown and improved aircraft utilisation have been significant contributors to the performance in the second quarter.”