IndiGo narrows Q1 loss to ₹1,064 cr; revenue zooms 328%

India's largest airline InterGlobe Aviation Ltd. (IndiGo) has narrowed its April-June quarter net loss to ₹1,064 crore as compared to ₹3,174.2 crore net loss in the same quarter last year.

Ahead of the quarterly result announcement, the IndiGo stock rose 1.20% to close at ₹1,967 on the National Stock Exchange.

IndiGo's revenue from operations was the highest ever in Q1 FY23 at ₹12,855.3 crore, up 328% from ₹3,007 crore in the year-ago period.

IndiGo's EBITDAR (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortisation and restructuring) for the quarter was ₹716.9 crore, with a margin of 5.6%, as compared to a negative EBITDAR of ₹1,360 crore during the quarter ending June 2021.

IndiGo CEO Ronojoy Dutta says IndiGo's revenue performance in Q1 FY23 was "impressive". "We reported the highest ever revenue generated by the company and thereby produced profits at an operational level. However, cost pressures on fuel and foreign exchange prevented us from translating this strong revenue performance into net profitability. While our financial performance in the second quarter will be challenged by weak seasonality, the long-term revenue trend remains strong."

IndiGo, in an exchange filing, says its total income, including revenue and other income, was ₹13,019 crore for Q1, a rise of 370% YoY. Its passenger ticket revenue rose 399.1% to ₹11,466 crore and ancillary revenue was at ₹1,286.3 crore after seeing a 92.5% YoY surge.

At the same time, IndiGo's expenses also rose 122% to ₹14,083 crore for the quarter. Its total cash balance was ₹19,069 crore as of the quarter ending June 30, 2022, which includes ₹8,303 crore free cash and ₹10,765 crore restricted cash. The airline's total debt (including the capitalised operating lease liability) was ₹39,277 crore as of June 30, 2022.

In terms of operations, IndiGo operated at a peak of 1,667 daily flights during the quarter including non-scheduled flights. It provided scheduled services to 73 domestic destinations and 20 international destinations. IndiGo had technical dispatch reliability – a leading key performance indicator – of 99.90%, on-time performance of 85.5% across four key metros and a flight cancellation rate of 0.61%.

In terms of outlook, IndiGo says the Q2 FY23 capacity, in terms of ASKs (available seat kilometres), is expected to increase by around 70-80% YoY.

The quarterly report shows IndiGo has a fleet of 281 aircraft, including 35 A320 CEOs, 146 A320 NEOs, 65 A321 NEOs and 35 ATRs; a net increase of 6 aircraft during the quarter.