Jet Airways Group has declared a 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. The financial performance has enabled Jet Airways to reduce its debt by Rs 1,680 crore during FY16.
Cost per available seat kilometre (CASK) excluding fuel dropped by 3.2 per cent from Rs 3.37 in FY15 to Rs 3.26 in FY16, indicating the airline’s success in achieving operational efficiencies throughout its business. 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.
Naresh Goyal, chairman, Jet Airways, said, “Jet Airways has been revitalised as a business in the last two years. Our focused efforts have resulted in significant improvement in operational performance leading to record profitability. Customer satisfaction, network enhancement and driving benefits through further improvements in operational efficiencies continue to be our key priorities. The Indian aviation industry is witnessing a growth phase and Jet Airways’ commitment to connect India to the world and vice versa is our contribution to India’s economic growth story.
“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. We will continue to focus on strengthening our balance sheet to ensure sustainable growth and value addition for our stakeholders. We are committed on delivering an enhanced guest experience and leveraging the commercial and operational synergies from our partnership with Etihad Airways,” he added.
The improvement in performance has been achieved largely due to the combination of enhanced fleet utilisation and optimisation of network, which enabled better integration between domestic and international operations. Additionally, the implementation of a full service strategy across the domestic operation, supported by the “Guest First” approach along with an increased focus on premium traffic, has contributed positively.
James Hogan, vice chairman, Jet Airways; and president and CEO, Etihad Aviation Group, commented, “We are satisfied with the strong operational and financial performance achieved by Jet Airways. The return to profitability is a result of the effective partnership between Jet Airways and Etihad Airways. Between the two airlines, we have been able to provide a compelling option of wider combined network and exceptional guest experience for travellers to and from India. Etihad Airways is committed to its partnership with Jet Airways and is focused on driving further synergies, along with other Etihad Airways Partner airlines.”
Continuing the positive trend from Q3, the final quarter of 2016 saw ongoing improvements in all key performance indicators. Passenger revenues for Q4 FY16 rose by 3.1 per cent to Rs 4,686 crore from Rs 4,543 crore in Q4 FY15, while EBITDA increased to Rs 1,058 crore compared to Rs 275 crore in Q4 FY15.
Overall codeshare traffic for the fourth quarter of FY16 grew 21 per cent to 570,000 passengers. Codeshare traffic with Etihad Airways over its Abu Dhabi hub and with its partner airlines grew 45 per cent in Q4 of FY16.
