Jet Airways, India's top carrier by market share, plans to repay about Rs 1,000 crore of debt each fiscal and is also looking to prepay some of its high-cost rupee debt, officials said on Thursday.
The company is looking to prepay its high-cost debt amounting to between Rs 2,000 crore to Rs 3,000 crore of Indian rupee debt, "at the earliest," Jet officials said in a conference call with analysts.
Jet Airways has a total debt of around Rs 13,000 crore.
The airline is awaiting approval from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) to raise up to USD 400 million from a share sale to foreign institutional investors.
On Wednesday, Jet Airways had reported a 11.3% rise in third quarter net profit helped by an increase in air traffic.
A wealthier middle class, driven by an economy that is growing at about 8.5% a year, has lifted demand for air travel in India.
Jet officials said on Thursday the airline expects to improve margins in both domestic and international operations by 2% to 3% going ahead, while yields may rise as much as 8% to 10% in FY12, supported by higher demand.
It plans to start new international routes next fiscal to destinations in Europe and far-east Asia, they added.
Jet Airways shares closed up 3.02% at Rs 518.35 in a firm Mumbai market.
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