Vijay Mallya is flying out from the low-cost aviation space in what is seen as a last attempt to salvage the debt-ridden Kingfisher Airlines.
Moneycontrol.com first broke the news on August 1, about Kingfisher's exit strategy aimed at shifting focus to its full service operations, which has been struggling to grow in market share. While its low-cost rivals like Indigo and SpiceJet were steadily narrowing the gap. Kingfisher Airlines is a bankrupt organisation, said Neeraj Monga, executive vice president and head of research at Veritas Investment Research. "It has been trying hard to raise money via every means possible," he added. With its losses mounting, Kingfisher Airlines has been struggling to foot its fuel bills, which led to its dozen flights being grounded on a single day in July. Monga said the airline has been buring cash at a rapid rate. "Nearly 23% of the airline is owned by banks," he said adding, "UB Holding needs to find rights issue externally." The company has got shareholder approval for a Rs 2,000 crore rights issue. Mallya said the previously approved GDR issue could not be launched due to various external environmental factors such as the high crude oil prices. However, Monga feels, it is difficult to believe that KFA rights issue will go through. According to Monga the cash-strapped airlines may need Rs 3000-4000 crore to get itself back on its feet. Below is the edited transcript of Monga's interview with Udayan Mukherjee and Mitali Mukherjee of CNBC-TV18. Also watch the accompanying video. Q: What is your 12 month outlook on some of these aviation stocks? In terms of prices do you see them headed lower? A: I donDiscover the latest Business News, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated!
