New Delhi: The country’s largest airline IndiGo on Friday saw its profit after tax slide 18.3 per cent to Rs 2,448.8 crore in the three months ended December 2024, as currency volatility took a toll on the bottom line. With the increase in the number of capacity and passengers, the carrier’s total income jumped 14.6 per cent to Rs 22,992.8 crore in the third quarter of the current financial year, according to a release. In the year-ago period, the same stood at Rs 20,062.3 crore.
InterGlobe Aviation is the parent of IndiGo, which flew 31.1 million passengers in the latest December quarter. In the 2023 December quarter, the carrier had a profit after tax of Rs 2,998.1 crore.Â
“Driven by strong demand for air travel, continued growth, and lower fuel cost, for the quarter ended December 2024, IndiGo reported a solid profit of Rs 38.5 billion, excluding the impact of currency movement against a profit of 30.5 billion during the same period last year,” the release said.
“Including the impact of foreign exchange, the net profit for the quarter aggregated to Rs 24.5 billion,” it further said.Â
Fuel cost, which accounts for a significant chunk of an airline’s operational expenses, fell 6.1 per cent to Rs 6,422.6 crore in the latest December quarter even as total costs climbed 19.9 per cent to Rs 20,465.7 crore.
“We delivered a strong third quarter of financial year 2025, both operationally and financially. We reported a total income of Rs 230 billion, reflecting a growth of 15 per cent and profit, excluding the impact of currency movement of Rs 38.5 billion,” IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers said.
Including currency impact, we reported a profit of Rs 24.5 billion, highlighting effective execution of our clear and well-defined strategy,” he added.
He also noted that these results were driven by robust demand in the market and the ability to cater to that demand supported by lower fuel prices.
During the December 2024 quarter, the airline’s yield fell 1 per cent to Rs 5.43 while unit passenger revenue inched up 0.3 per cent to Rs 4.72.
For the fourth quarter ending March this year, the airline expects capacity in terms of ASKs to increase by around 20 per cent compared to the year-ago period. ASK refers to Available Seat Per Kilometre.
At the end of December 31, the company had a total cash balance of Rs 43,780.8 crore, comprising Rs 28,903.5 crore of free cash and Rs 14,877.3 crore of restricted cash.
“The capitalised operating lease liability was Rs 495,937 million. The total debt (including the capitalised operating lease liability) was Rs 651,385 million,” the release said.
IndiGo’s fleet size stood at 437 planes at the end of the December quarter.
