Maintaining profitability for seven straight years, budget airline IndiGo’s profit has jumped more than four-fold to Rs 1,304 crore in the previous fiscal.
This is also the highest ever annual profit registered by the airline — which is also preparing for a Rs 2,500 crore initial public offer — since its inception in 2005.
The country’s largest airline by market share had posted a net profit of Rs 317 crore in the year ended March 31, 2014.
IndiGo’s good showing in the last financial year was mainly on account of higher revenues despite the domestic aviation sector witnessing turbulent times that adversely impacted the balance sheets of most local carriers.
According to financial numbers submitted to aviation regulator DGCA, IndiGo also saw its revenues climb to Rs 14,320 crore in the 2014-15 financial year.
This is an increase of 25 per cent from Rs 11,447 crore revenues recorded in the fiscal ended March 31, 2014.
Currently, InterGlobe Enterprises’ Rahul Bhatia holds the majority stake of over 51 per cent in the low cost carrier. The remaining shareholding is with Rakesh S Gangwal and that stake is held through Virginia-based Caelum Investments.
The airline is gearing up for an initial share sale to raise up to Rs 2,500 crore.
IndiGo’s capacity utilisation measured in terms of Available Seat Kilometres (ASK)) grew to 35.6 million in the last financial year whereas the same was at 29.9 million in the same period a year ago. Last financial year, IndiGo added around 1,400 new employees.
During 2014-15 period, former Bank of Baroda Chairman M D Mallya and ex-World Bank executive Anupam Khanna joined IndiGo’s board as independent directors, the airline informed DGCA.
IndiGo has so far placed orders for 530 Airbus planes, making it one of the largest customers of the European aircraft maker.
The carrier has already taken delivery of 100 Airbus A320 planes which it had ordered in 2005. It would take delivery of the remaining 430 aircraft over a period of ten years.
In June, IndiGo filed papers for raising up to Rs 2,500 crore through an initial public offer.
InterGlobe Aviation Ltd, which runs the country’s biggest airline by market share under ‘IndiGo’ brand, has offered to issue fresh shares worth Rs 1,272 crore, an equivalent amount can be raised through sale of up to 3.01 crore shares by its existing shareholders.
IndiGo reports record profit ahead of IPO -sources
(Reuters) India’s biggest airline, IndiGo, quadrupled its profit to a record 13.04 billion rupees ($196 million) in the year ending in March, two sources said on Thursday, as it prepares to cash in on the country’s aviation boom with a stock market listing.
The low-cost carrier, which now flies one in every three air passengers within India, has remained profitable in recent years by keeping its costs lower than rivals and filling more seats on its planes.
India is one of the world’s fastest-growing markets for air travel, but high operating costs and tough competition on fares have dragged most major carriers into the red.
A big drop in fuel prices in the past year, however, has eased the squeeze on airlines and is likely to have boosted IndiGo’s profits.
Its net profit surged to 13.04 billion rupees, from 3.17 billion rupees a year earlier, the sources said, declining to be named as the results are not yet public. Revenue rose 25 percent from a year earlier to 143.2 billion rupees, one of the sources said.
IndiGo, which operates a fleet of around 100 planes, last month finalised the purchase of 250 Airbus A320neo aircraft, the European planemaker’s largest-ever order and the latest in a series of huge orders made by the airline as it pushes to grab a bigger share of the Indian market.
InterGlobe Aviation, which runs IndiGo, is seeking to raise more than $400 million in an initial public offering in Mumbai this year, after filing a draft prospectus in June.
Banking sources say the listing, which would be the biggest IPO in India since 2012, should value InterGlobe at more than $4 billion. ($1 = 66.4600 Indian rupees)
