Indigo posts its highest-ever quarterly profit; plans to launch a VC firm
InterGlobe Aviation, the operator of low-cost airline IndiGo, on August 2 reported a profit of Rs 3,090.6 crore for the quarter ended June 2023, as compared to a net loss of Rs 1,064.3 crore in the same period a year ago.
The company’s chief financial officer, Gaurav Negi, informed during the earnings call that the airline is looking to float a venture capital fund that will invest in early-stage companies in the aviation and allied sectors, including travel, lifestyle, hospitality and transportation along with acquiring assets such as aircraft and engines in order to make better use of its cash flows.
“We will look at investing Rs 7 crore in the venture capital business to begin with. Internal discussions are happening. This is a directional view. We haven’t decided on how much capital we want to allocate to that," Negi added.
Revenue from operations for IndiGo, the largest airline in the country, jumped almost 30 per cent year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 16,683 crore from the year-ago period when the airline had reported a topline of Rs Rs 12,855.3 crore, according to a regulatory filing.
The total revenue in Q1FY24 was reported at Rs 17,160.9 crore, up 31.8 per cent, from Rs 13,018.8 crore in Q1FY23.
The company posted an EBITDAR (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, amortisation, and rent) at Rs 521.09 crore in the first quarter, which marked a multifold growth from Rs 71.69 crore in the last year's quarter. Total expenses for the quarter dipped marginally to Rs 14,070 crore, while fuel costs were down nearly 13 per cent over the same quarter last year.
This is the highest-ever quarterly revenue and net profit reported by the budget carrier, which came on the back of a rise in demand for domestic travel during the quarter, high ticket prices and weak competition owing to the troubles at rivals Go First and Spicejet.
For the quarter ending June, IndiGo's passenger ticket revenues were at Rs 14,995.6 crore, showing an increase of 31 per cent YoY and ancillary revenues rose 20 per cent YoY to Rs 1,548.4 crore. The airline’s passenger numbers increased 30 per cent YoY to 26.2 million, while the capacity rose 19 per cent to 32.7 billion.
"We produced strong operational performance and welcomed the highest number of quarterly passengers which enabled us to generate the highest ever quarterly revenue and net profit for the quarter ended June 2023," Indigo’s chief executive officer Pieter Elbers said.
Yields per passenger for the no-frills airline declined by 1.2 per cent to Rs 5.18 and the load factor improved by 9.0 points to 88.6 per cent in the April-June period.
The revenue per available seat kilometre (RASK), on the other hand, rose 9 per cent to Rs 5.12 during the June quarter. “Second quarter of fiscal year 2024 capacity in terms of available seat kilometre is expected to increase by around 25 per cent as compared to the second quarter of fiscal year 2023,” according to the company statement.
The company's total debt rose 18 per cent YoY to Rs 46,291.9 crore in the quarter, while the total cash balance rose by 43.7 per cent to Rs 27,400 crore, including free cash of Rs 15,691.1 crore.
As of June 30, 2023, IndiGo has a fleet of 316 aircraft including 20 A320 CEOs, 166 A320 NEOs, 87 A321 NEOs, 39 ATRs, two A321 freighters, and 2 B777 (damp lease), a net increase of 12 passenger aircraft during the quarter. The airline placed a new order for 500 aircraft in Q1FY24 taking its outstanding order book to about 1,000 aircraft.
The airline operated at a peak of 1,873 daily flights during the quarter including non-scheduled flights. During the quarter, the airline provided scheduled services to 78 domestic destinations, 22 international destinations along 37 additional international destinations through strategic partnerships.
The airline is rapidly expanding in the international market. It has recently announced six new destinations in Africa and Central Asia.
The company’s shares on Wednesday closed 0.16 per cent higher at Rs 2,574.90 on NSE.
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