Grounded Kingfisher Airlines shows widening losses for Q3
12 Feb 2014
Vijay Mallya's Kingfisher Airlines, which has been grounded for over a year, reported yet another quarterly loss as it had no income from operations.
The Mumbai-based airline has never made a profit since its launch in 2005, though at one time it was India's second-largest carrier. Today, it reported a net loss was Rs822 crore for the third quarter of the current financial year up to December, compared to a loss of Rs755 crore a year earlier.
The cash-strapped Kingfisher has not flown since October 2012. It owes about $1 billion to banks, and more to airports and the tax authorities. Bids to revive operations have met with little success, while some creditors have filed winding-up petitions in court courts.
Kingfisher Airlines had accumulated losses of Rs16,023.46 crore as on 31 March 2013, and its net worth was a minus Rs12,919.82 crore.
The finance costs of Kingfisher for the reporting quarter stood at Rs.350.99 crore against Rs.401.25 crore in the same quarter the previous year.
The redelivery cost of aircraft and engines rose 45.83 per cent to Rs400.73 crore against Rs274.80 crore a year ago.
Kingfisher's operating licence was suspended in October last year by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) following a strike by the airline's employees over non-payment of salaries. The permit has since expired, although it can be renewed within two years.
The group of 14 lenders led by State Bank of India (SBI) expects to recover at least Rs1,000 crore as it starts taking possession of buildings, helicopters and other fixed assets of the grounded airline.
The consortium collected Rs550-600 crore in the first phase by selling pledged shares of associate companies of Kingfisher Airlines's parent UB Group.