New Delhi, Sep 15 (SocialNews.XYZ) Airline major SpiceJet on Tuesday reported a net loss of Rs 593.4 crore during Q1 FY21, as flight operations remained suspended for most part of the quarter following the nationwide lockdown.
The company had reported a profit of Rs 261.7 crore in the same quarter of the previous year.
The company's results belie the fears of investors. Interestingly, another listed airline in India had reported a loss of over Rs 2,800 crore for the same quarter.
SpiceJet reported a EBIDTAR profit of Rs 13.5 crore, while revenue from its cargo operations increased by a massive 144 per cent.
"Operating revenue was Rs 514.7 crore for the reported quarter as against Rs 3,002.1 crore in the same quarter last year," the airline said in a statement.
"For the same comparative period, operating expenses were Rs 1,303.2 crore as against Rs 2,887.2 crore."
The company added that the present operating environment on account of Covid -19 though does not reflect the true comparison of the current results with those of the corresponding quarter last year.
"Our performance during the last six months clearly signifies our positive attitude and our ability to find opportunity in adversity," Ajay Singh, Chairman and Managing Director, SpiceJet was quoted as saying in a statement.
"This has seen us quickly bounce back with industry best load factors and emerge as India's number one cargo company."
Interestingly, SpiceJet established itself as country's largest cargo operator during this period.
It operated more than 7,000 flights and transported around 50,000 tonnes of cargo since March 25, 2020.
"Out of these 7,000 flights, 40 per cent were to international destinations," the statement said.
"The airline also contributed in a big way to support the government's 'Krishi Udan' and 'Marine Krishi Udaan' initiatives, thereby lending a helping hand to Indian farmers, by carrying a record 9,662 MTs of shrimp and farm produce during the lockdown period."
The airline also converted 6 - Q400 - passenger aircraft into freighters, which are suited for operations to Tier II and III cities and to remote and hilly areas in the North East, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh.
In addition, the airline operated over 800 charter and Vande Bharat flights to help repatriate more than 120,000 stranded Indian citizens from countries such as Philippines, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Netherlands, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Lebanon, Bangladesh, Maldives and Sri Lanka," the statement said.
"SpiceJet also operated long haul wide body charter operations with a fleet of A330/A340 aircraft."
Source: IANS
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