MUMBAI, May 31: Troubled carrier Kingfisher Airlines’ loss widened to Rs 1,151.53 crore in the fourth quarter of 2011-12 due to steep hike in fuel prices and sharp depreciation of the rupee.
It had net loss of Rs 355.55 crore in the January-March quarter of 2010-11, Kingfisher said in a filing to the BSE.
It has been facing financial troubles for almost a year now. The airline, which never made a profit since inception in May 2005, posted a net loss of Rs 2,328 crore in 2011-12 against Rs 1,027.39 crore in 2010-11.
“Operational cost savings were offset by a steep hike in fuel prices and sharp depreciation of the Indian rupee, which negatively impacted over 70 per cent of the cost base,” it said in a statement.
During the quarter, income from operations stood at Rs 741.28 crore as against Rs 1,626.65 crore.
Due to paucity of funds, the air carrier now operates only 110 flights a day with a fleet of 20 aircraft as against 400 flights per day last year with 66 planes.
“The company has a focused fleet re-induction plan and hopes to be back to full-scale operations in the next 12 months backed by a recapitalisation plan that the company is actively pursuing and confident of achieving,” Kingfisher said.
Kingfisher Airlines has a debt of Rs 7,057.08 crore. The airline had a 6.4 per cent market share in March, and was ranked below the budget carrier GoAir, which cornered 7.5 per cent market share in the same period. (PTI)

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