SpiceJet shares down 4% as Q3 loss widens

Mumbai: Shares of budget airline SpiceJet today fell by 4 percent after the company reported widening of net loss by a steep 59 percent during the third-quarter at Rs 275 crore.

The stock went down by 3.99 per cent to Rs 19.25 at the BSE.

The company announced its results post market hours yesterday.

In the middle of an ownership change, SpiceJet had yesterday reported a steep 59 percent rise in third-quarter net loss at Rs 275 crore on lower passenger numbers and a one-time cost of Rs 295 crore.

The cash-strapped airline was forced to ground flights for some days during the quarter after its vendors refused to offer credit. This resulted in the airline witnessing a 31 percent decline in capacity, while revenue fell 27 percent to Rs 1,300 crore, from Rs 1,769 crore in the year-ago quarter.

The net loss has widened from Rs 173 crore during the September-December 2013 quarter, the airline had said.

Its co-founder Ajay Singh has returned as its promoter after buying stake from the Maran family.

The finance cost of the airline also went up sharply to over Rs 47 crore in the quarter ended December 31, 2014, from a little over Rs 30 crore in the year-ago period, while the airline had to bear one-off and exceptional expenses totalling Rs 295 crore in the latest three-month period.--PTI