Mumbai: A one-time income of Rs 305 crore from sale of its loyalty programme to equity partner Etihad helped Jet Airways slash losses to the tune of 95.7 per cent at Rs 43 crore in the three months to September.
The airline had reported a whopping Rs 999 crore net loss in the same period a year ago.
For the first time since 2012, the Naresh Goyal-promoted airline, however, on a standalone basis flew back into profit with a net profit of Rs 69.82 crore helped by the one-time income, the airline said in a release.
In the same period a year ago, the company reported a net loss of Rs 891 crore.
The airline, however, said the better set of numbers is on account of operational restructuring, higher yield and expansion of code-share agreements with other carriers.
The airline had earlier this week said from December 1 it would discontinue the no-frills brand JetLite.
Fuel cost, which used to account for around 50 per cent of operational expenses, has also helped the airline. However, it has not specified its fuel cost during the quarter.
International crude has fallen more than 30 per cent since June, while the oil companies have only reduced around 15 per cent of retail price of ATF.
During the quarter, Jet completed a 50.1 per cent stake sale in its frequent flyer programme Jet Privilege to the UAE carrier Etihad for Rs 305 crore, which owns 24 per cent equity in the airline.
Consolidated income rose 13.7 per cent to Rs 5,092 crore during the quarter as against Rs 4,480 crore a year ago.
Standalone income jumped 16 per cent to Rs 4,772 crore from Rs 4,101 crore, the airline said.
The airline also said its board has approved a proposal to raise up to USD 300 million in term debt by issuing redeemable preference shares, non-convertible bonds or loan from its foreign shareholder Etihad, which had already extended a USD 150 million soft loan to the carrier when it sold 24 per cent stake to it.
Jet Airways also logged a near 14 per cent rise in passenger revenues to Rs 4,277 crore from Rs 3,753 crore a year ago, while the revenue from cargo rose 10.5 per cent to Rs 379 crore from Rs 343 crore in the corresponding quarter previous fiscal.
