Mumbai: Shares of Jet Airways India Ltd on Thursday slumped nearly 11% to hit an over 15-month low after the company reported an unexpected loss for the March quarter due to higher fuel costs.
Jet Airways shares fell 10.6% in intraday trade to Rs376.60—a level last seen on 20 February 2017. At 10am, the stock was trading at Rs386.20 on BSE, down 8.3% from previous close. So far this year, Jet Airways has fallen over 55%. BSE Sensex was up 0.25% to 34,425.20 points.
Net loss for the quarter was Rs1036 crore against a profit of Rs602.42 crore a year ago. Revenue stood at Rs6,055.15 crore, down from Rs6,271.21 crore in the same quarter of 2017. Total costs rose 25% to Rs7091.15 crore. Fuel costs rose 30.5% to Rs2,063 crore.
Analyst says that the huge loss was due to higher crude, slowdown in the airline’s middle east operations, falling yields, and failure to keep costs under control. The company said its loss had resulted in a negative net worth for the first time in eleven quarters.
“The appropriateness of assumption of going concern is dependent upon realisation of the various initiatives undertaken by the Company and/or the Company’s ability to raise requisite finance or generate cash flows in future to meet its obligations, including financial support to its subsidiary companies,” according to the Independent Auditor’s Report attached with the financial results.
Analysts expected a profit for the March quarter, though they expected decline in yields on the back of higher fuel prices and a slow growth of domestic passengers. According to a Bloomberg poll of 3 analysts, the company was expected to post a profit of Rs20.57 crore.
The company also reported a one time maintenance charge of Rs253 crore and an impairment loss of Rs46.10 crore during the quarter on the loans advanced to arm Jet Lite India Ltd.
Airline companies are under pressure since start of this year due to continued rising oil prices. During the last 12 months, Brent crude price, which currently stands at $78.54 a barrel, has risen by 45.87%.
Year to date, Indigo has fallen nearly 4% while SpiceJet declined 33%.