IndiGo Posts Quarterly Loss Of Rs 2,849 Crore As Pandemic Grounds Planes

Interglobe Aviation Ltd, which runs the country's largest airline IndiGo, reported its steepest quarterly loss in at least five years on Wednesday as travel restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic hit its operations. The company clocked a net loss of Rs 2,849 crore for the quarter ended June 30, compared with a profit of Rs 1,200 crore a year earlier. Revenue from operations plunged 92 per cent to Rs 767 crore.

"Closure of scheduled operations till May 24, 2020 and lower capacity deployment thereafter on account of COVID-19, significantly impacted the quarterly results," IndiGo said in an exchange filing.

The company's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortisation and rentals (EBITDAR) came in at negative Rs 1,421.2 crore with a negative EBITDAR margin of 185.4 per cent for the quarter, as against an EBITDAR of Rs 2,778.5 crore with an EBITDAR margin of 29.5 per cent for the year-ago period, IndiGo added.

"The aviation industry is going through a crisis of survival and therefore, our cash balance remains our number one priority. However, we also recognize that major disruptions offer companies opportunities for improvement in product, customer preference, costs and employee engagement. We have built a strong team which is working on multiple fronts to ensure that we emerge from this crisis stronger than ever," IndiGo CEO Ronojoy Dutta said in a statement.

IndiGo shares ended 0.45 per cent lower at Rs 909.80, outperforming the Sensex which closed over 1 per cent lower.