InterGlobe Aviation Q3 Results: Reports Profit After Three Quarters

InterGlobe Aviation Ltd., the parent company of IndiGo, reported profit in the December quarter after three consecutive loss-making quarters.

The operator of India's largest airline reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 1,422.6 crore in the third quarter against a net profit of Rs 129.8 crore over the same period in the previous fiscal, according to its exchange filing. A consensus estimate of analysts tracked by Bloomberg had projected the net profit to be Rs 1,274.7 crore.

If not for the foreign exchange loss of Rs 586.5 crore rupees, the profit would have been over Rs 2,009 crore.

• Revenue rose 61% to Rs 14,933 crore, against a forecast of Rs 14,198.4 crore.

• Ebitdar rose 70.3% to Rs 3,399 crore.

• Ebitdar margin stood at 22.8% versus 21.5% last year.

The revenue reported is the highest ever for this quarter. The airline's yield jumped 22% year-on-year and 6% sequentially to Rs 5.38 per km.

During the quarter, the airline's load factor stood at 85.1% compared with 79.7% last year, and it carried 26% more passengers at 2.23 crore.

The company has reported losses in 10 out of the last 12 quarters.

Just like the quarter under review, the only profitable quarter was October–December in the previous fiscal when the festive season led to increased air travel.

The aviation sector was one of the worst hit by the Covid-19 pandemic, requiring first a nationwide lockdown and then local curbs to mitigate the spread of the virus.

However, India's air passenger traffic has recovered strongly in the third quarter and climbed to a nearly three-year high in December amid festive demand and year-end spike in travel. That led to passenger rush resulting in overcrowding at major airports across the country.

Shares of IndiGo's parent company ended 1.2% lower before the results were announced, compared with a 1.4% rise in the benchmark Nifty.