Jet Airways reports biggest quarterly loss in three years – 2007-08 net loss at Rs653.87 crore

Mumbai: Jet Airways (India) Ltd, India's largest private carrier, has reported its biggest quarterly loss in at least three years on the back of crippling fuel costs. It said Tuesday it had posted a net loss of Rs221.18 crore for the quarter ended 31 March 2008, reversing a net profit of Rs88.01 crore for the same period a year ago.

Total income for the reporting quarter stood at Rs1,989.03 crore, against Rs2,727.02 crore a year ago. It has posted a consolidated net loss of Rs653.87 crore for the year-ended 31 March 2008.

Its total income for the reporting year stood at Rs10,92 .27 crore.

This is also the second consecutive quarterly loss for the airline.

Fuel costs almost doubled in the fourth quarter after the cost of aviation turbine fuel surged. Expansion of international network also added to costs.

Jet Airways fell 0.3 per cent to Rs517.8 at the close of trading in Mumbai today. The stock has declined 48 per cent this year, almost a third more than the 31 per cent drop in the benchmark Sensex.

Earnings were announced after the market closed.

Mumbai-based Jet Airways operates a fleet of 84 aircraft, and also has more than 50 planes on order from Boeing and Airbus.

The airline began flights to Hong Kong, China and the Middle East this year, expanding on existing overseas routes including Singapore, Canada and the US. A flight to San Francisco from Mumbai, via Shanghai, is a recent addition.