After posting profits for five straight quarters, India’s largest private airline, Jet Airways, on Monday said it incurred a net loss of Rs 91 crore for the quarter ended December 31, compared to a net profit of Rs 40 crore a year earlier.
Record fuel prices and high operating costs owing to an expansion of international operations were cited as reasons for the poor showing.
Sales during the period, however, increased 27.8% to Rs 2,517 crore, against Rs 1,670 crore a year earlier.
The company will also consider raising $800 million, which will include a plan to sell $400 million in shares that was approved by its board on June 26, it told the exchanges. Jet’s plans to mop up $400 million for expansion through a rights issue have been deferred several times now.
The company’s shares rose marginally (0.68%) to close at Rs 748 on the highly volatile BSE on Monday, ahead of the announcement of the results. Just last month, shares were trading above Rs 1,000 levels, and posted their 52-week high of Rs 1,019.80 on December 19.
Says Wolfgang Prock-Schaeur, the airline?s CEO, ?The average price of fuel was Rs 44.19 per litre in Q3, compared to Rs 39.24 last year. Other operating costs also went up. Our average staff numbers increased from 9,780 to 11,910 on account of an expansion in international operations.?
New hires among pilots, engineers and cabin crew constituted the bulk of the increase. ATF prices leapt to a record $116.80 a barrel on November 26, and are still trading above $100.