IndiGo swung to profit for the second consecutive quarter as strong passenger demand continued to overshadow rising fuel prices. The airline posted a quarterly profit of INR 9190 million with a steady growth of 76.5% in operating revenue. Indigo's revenue from operations was INR 141.6 bn from Rs 80.2 bn in the same quarter last fiscal.
IndiGo had posted a net loss of INR 16.80 bn a year-ago.
The March quarter profit came after it reported an 11-fold jump in profit for the October-December quarter. IndiGo last posted two consecutive profitable quarters in June 2019.
The carrier's EBITDAR (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, amortisation and rent) jumped to INR 2,96bn as against INR 1.72bn Year-on-Year (YoY), while its margin increased manifold to 20.9% percent versus 2.1 percent (YoY).
Passenger ticket revenues during the fourth quarter rose 81% to INR 124.35 bn, while ancillary revenues were INR14.45bn, showing an increase of 37% compared to the same period last year.
The carrier's load factor, or the passenger carrying capacity being utilized, improved by 7.5 percentage points to 84.2 percent.
Commenting on the results, Pieter Elbers, CEO, said: “The company-wide initiatives undertaken based on the three strategic pillars of reassure, create and develop enabled us to end the year on a strong note with record revenues. I would like to thank the 86 million customers for choosing to fly with us in the financial year ended March 2023 and the 6E employees for their immense hard work and dedication."
Although the airline is expected to earn from Go First's grounding by increasing capacity on popular tourist destinations during peak summer holidays, it also faces stiff competition from Air India and new entrants like Akasa Air.