Indian carrier IndiGo`s Q3 profit doubles on strong demand, fares
IndiGo operator Interglobe Aviation reported more than two-fold growth in third-quarter profit on Friday, helped by air travel demand and higher fares in a seasonally strong period.
The company reported a standalone profit of 29.98 billion rupees ($362 million) for the quarter ended Dec. 31, compared to 14.18 billion rupees in the year-ago period.
IndiGo, a low-cost carrier, has India's largest airline fleet of 358 aircraft and commands a market share of over 62%.
The company benefited from back-to-back festive and wedding seasons, along with the men's cricket world cup hosted in the country, analysts said.
IndiGo's revenue rose 30% to 194.52 billion rupees, which analysts attributed to higher fares.
Its expenses rose 22% as fuel costs - which account for 40% of the total - rose 18%. Foreign exchange losses, however, narrowed by over 91%.
IndiGo's load factor, or the utilised passenger carrying capacity, improved to 85.8% from 85.1%.
Yield - the average revenue earned per passenger kilometre - rose 2% to 5.48 rupees per kilometre.
Its shares ended 2% higher on Friday at their best-ever closing price of 3,127.1 rupees.
