The Jet Airways board is considering fund raising measures and has accelerates its turnaround strategy as it said it continues to be a “going concern”.
At the carrier’s financial results for the first quarter (Q1) of the 2019 financial year ending 30 June, it said it is seeking new capital infusion and monetising its loyalty programme.
This came after it posted a loss before tax of Rs13.2 billion ($198 million) for Q1, reversing its profit before tax of Rs53.5 million from the previous corresponding period.
Revenue increased slightly by two per cent to Rs60.7 billion as expenses rose 25 per cent to Rs73.9 billion, led by a surge in fuel costs.
ASKs rose by 9.4 per cent, while RPKs increased 7.6 per cent. It also recorded a four per cent improvement in the utilisation of its Boeing 737 fleet. Passengers carried increased by 3.9 per cent in Q1 to 7.38 million, compared to the same quarter last year.
The carrier’s board has tasked management with executing a broad-based cost-cutting programme to achieve savings of more than Rs20 billion, and reducing debt.
It will focus on fleet simplification and will wet-lease excess ATR aircraft and simplification of sub-fleet complexity of B737s to result in further improvements to the bottom line and induction of fuel and cost-efficient B737 MAX aircraft will contribute to the stated 8-10 per cent growth plan.
Jet Airways chief executive officer, Vinay Dube said: “The rise in the price of Brent fuel, a depreciating rupee and a resulting mismatch between high fuel prices and low fares have adversely impacted the Indian aviation industry, including Jet Airways.
“We are implementing a host of measures to reduce costs and grow revenue, while retaining our focus on our guests. I am confident that the various transformation initiatives identified and under implementation by the company will help in addressing the challenges faced by us. In fact, several such transformation initiatives have already started to deliver positive results.”
Etihad Aviation Group holds a 24 per cent stake in the airline and said it remains committed to “our strategic partnership with the airline as it explores and leverages the opportunities presented by the growing Indian aviation market”.
