Kingfisher Airlines has reported that its net loss doubled to Rs 468.66 crore in the quarter ended September 30, 2011, as higher fuel prices depressed operating margins.
The debt-ridden carrier had reported a net loss of Rs 230.81 crore in the same period last year, Kingfisher Airlines said in a regulatory filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange.
The company's income from operations, however, rose by 10.5% to Rs 1,528.16 crore in the July-September quarter from Rs 1,382.72 crore in the year earlier period.
Meanwhile, shares of the company were trading at Rs 21.50 a piece, up 0.70% from their previous close on the BSE at 9.30 am.
Banks are likely to push for fresh fund raising of around Rs 800 crore, if the airline want a next round of funds from lenders.
"We have asked Kingfisher to raise some fresh funds if banks are to at all consider their request for restructuring" said Hemant Contractor, MD, SBI.
Kingfisher has been asked by its creditors to raise $160 million in equity and the carrier is considering a proposal to sell real estate to help pave the way for a debt restructuring, a banker said on Monday.
The carrier's net loss in the quarter ended Sept 30 rose to 4.69 billion rupees ($93 million) from 2.31 billion rupees in the year-ago period, the company said in a statement to the stock exchanges.
Aircraft fuel expenses in the quarter rose 70% to 8.17 billion rupees, it said.
The carrier has become one of the main casualties of high fuel costs and a fierce price war between a handful of airlines which, between them, have ordered hundreds of aircraft for delivery over the next decade in an ambitious bet on the future.
The lenders -- a 13-bank consortium led by SBI, who were yet to decide on ways to soften the troubled airline's Rs 7,057.08 crore debt burden -- are due to meet Kingfisher management today.
Kingfisher had suffered a loss of Rs 1,027 crore in 2010-11 and is estimated to have debt of over Rs 7,000 crore. The airline has cancelled several flights over the past few weeks.
No comments:
Post a Comment