Q3 Result Analysis: Spicejet profit plummets 77 per cent

Low-cost carrier SpiceJet net profit plummets 77 per cent to Rs.55.1 crore in the third quarter ended December 31, 2018 as against Rs. 240 crore in the year-ago period.

An increase of 34 per cent in crude oil prices and 11 per cent depreciation of the rupee against the dollar led to a rise in cost by Rs. 329 crore but the airline said it was able to offset some of this by an 8 per cent increase in yield or revenue per passenger per mile. The carrier had reported two straight quarterly losses.

Total income stood at Rs. 2,530.8 crore as against Rs. 2,096.1 crore in the year-ago period. For the comparative periods, expenditure stood at Rs. 2,475.8 crore as against Rs. 1,856.1 crore.

The airline had incurred a loss of Rs. 38 crore and Rs. 389 crore in the first and second quarters, respectively.

With sector headwinds having subsided, the management is bullish on future prospects and will continue to invest aggressively in creating capacity.

The airline added nine Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft and three Q400s between October and December and would add seven more Max aircraft and one Boeing 737 freighter this fiscal.

On Tuesday, the spicejet stock opened at Rs. 78.75 per share and touched a high/low of 78.90/77.10 per share. At 14.28 hours, the stock was quoting Rs. 78.40 per share, down by 2.37 per cent on BSE.