Jet Airways flies into Rs 426 crore Q4 profit on lower expenses

Staying profitable for the fourth straight quarter, Jet Airways on Thursday posted a net profit of Rs 426 crore in the three months to March, primarily aided by lower fuel expenses and higher passenger numbers.

The full-service carrier, which has also boosted higher traffic from code share with other airlines, had a net loss of Rs 1,803 crore in the year-ago period.

"For Q4 of FY16, the company reported a net profit of Rs 426 crore, compared to a loss of Rs 1,803 crore for the same period last year. It marks the company's fourth straight quarter of profitability," Jet Airways said in a release.

However, as per a filing to the stock exchanges, the airline said its net profit in the latest March quarter stood at Rs 397.16 crore whereas it had a net loss of Rs 1,728.99 crore in the same period a year ago.

In the fourth quarter of 2015-16, the airline's total income from operations jumped to Rs 5,245.28 crore from Rs 5,064.52 crore in the year-ago period.

With significant decline in fuel costs, Jet Airways' total expenses in the 2016 March quarter dropped to Rs 4,848.14 crore. In the comparable period, the same stood at Rs 5,595.64 crore.

According to Jet Airways, aircraft fuel expenses in the latest quarter fell to Rs 999.07 crore from Rs 1,334.47 crore in the same period a year ago.

"Overall code share traffic for the fourth quarter of FY16 grew 21 % to 570,000 passengers... Code share traffic with strategic alliance partner Etihad Airways over its Abu Dhabi hub and with its partner airlines grew 45 % in Q4 of FY16," the release said.

For the full year ended March 2016, the airline recorded a net profit of Rs 1,212 crore. In the comparable period, it had a net loss of Rs 2,097 crore.

As per the carrier, it is the "highest ever annual profit in its history for the year ended March 31, 2016, and thereby achieved return to profitability a year earlier than the target set in its turnaround plan two years ago".

Jet Airways Chairman Naresh Goyal said focused efforts have resulted in significant improvement in operational performance leading to record profitability.

"We will continue to focus on strengthening our balance sheet to ensure sustainable growth and value addition for our stakeholders," he added.

According to the release, the improvement in performance has been achieved largely due to the combination of enhanced fleet utilisation and optimisation of network.

Implementation of a full service strategy across the domestic operation along with an increased focus on premium traffic has contributed positively, it added.

In 2015-16 period, total revenue rose to Rs 22,207 crore from Rs 20,966 crore in 2014-15 fiscal.

"Passengers carried increased by 14.8 % to 25.8 million in FY16 from 22.5 million in FY15... Code share traffic surged by 31 % from 1.6 million passengers carried in FY15 to 2.1 million passengers in FY16," the airline said.

Further, Jet Airways said that passengers and revenues delivered by Etihad Airways and Etihad Airways partners rose 86 % and 72 %, respectively in the last fiscal.

It also noted that cash generated from operations, after financing expenses, was primarily used to reduce debt by Rs 1,680 crore.

"The return to profitability is a result of the effective partnership between Jet Airways and Etihad Airways.

"... Etihad Airways is committed to its partnership with Jet Airways and is focused on driving further synergies, along with other Etihad Airways Partner airlines," Jet Airways Vice President James Hogan said.

Hogan is also the President and CEO of Etihad Aviation Group.

Goyal emphasised that customer satisfaction, network enhancement and driving benefits through further improvements in operational efficiencies would continue to be the carrier's key priorities.

"The competitive and structural challenges in the Indian aviation market continue to exist. In addition, the induction of capacity and the enhanced competitive scenario is creating a constant pressure on yields," he said.

The airline would continue to leverage the commercial and operational synergies from its partnership with Etihad Airways, he added.