Private budget airline IndiGo has posted a net loss of Rs 870.8 crore for the Jan-March quarter (Q4) of FY2019-20, as air travel saw a significant drop due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Domestic flights were suspended from March 24, 2020 in India in a bid to curb the spread of coronavirus.
IndiGo said in a statement that the closure of flight operations during national lockdown significantly impacted revenue for the quarter, despite flights being suspended only for over a week in March.
A net loss of Rs 870.8 crore is against a profit of Rs 595 crore in the same period last year, and a net profit of Rs 496 crore in the previous quarter (Oct-Dec 2019).
The airline said that with the prevailing uncertainty due to the pandemic, it will not be able to provide guidance on capacity growth.
IndiGo posted revenue from operations of Rs 8,299 crore, up 5.27% from the fourth quarter of the previous year. Sequentially, the revenue dropped 16.4% from Rs 9,931.7 crore.
IndiGo added five aircraft in the fourth quarter, and now has a fleet of 262 aircraft including 123 A320neos, 100 A320neos, 14 A321 neos and 25 ATRs. Before domestic flights were suspended, it operated a peak of 1,674 daily flights including international operations during the quarter.
"In the midst of every crisis, lies great opportunity. At IndiGo we are determined to emerge from this crisis stronger and more energized than ever. We are positioning ourselves to be a stronger brand, to have a more efficient fleet and a lower cost structure. We fully intend to deliver for India, the best air transportation system in the world,” CEO Ronojoy Dutta said.
The airline also reported its financials for the entire fiscal year of FY20, where it registered a net loss of Rs 233.7 crore, compared to net profit of Rs 1,572 in FY19.
For FY20, revenue from operations increased 25.5% to Rs 35,756 crore against a capacity increase of 18.8% during the year.
As of March 31, 2020, IndiGo had a total cash balance of Rs 20,376.9 crore comprising Rs 8,928.1 crore of free cash and Rs 11,448.8 crore of restricted cash
The capitalized operating lease liability was Rs 20,284.9 crore. The total debt (including the capitalized operating lease liability) was Rs 22,719.2 crore.