InterGlobe Aviation, the operator of low-cost airline IndiGo, on July 30 posted a profit of Rs 2,161 crore for the quarter ended June 2025, down 21 percent as compared to a net profit of Rs 2,727 crore in the same period a year ago.
Revenue from operations for IndiGo, the largest airline in the country, rose 5 percent to Rs 20,496 crore, from the year-ago period when the airline had reported a topline of Rs 19,571 crore.
IndiGo's net profit fell mainly due to a 26.5 percent rise in the airline's airport fees and charges which rose to Rs 1,626.9 crore during Q1FY26 from Rs 1,286.1 crore a year ago.
The airline reported a rise in airport fees and charges during the quarter on account of the closure of the Pakistani airspace and disruptions in domestic air traffic cause by the India-Pakistan military escalations in April and the terrorist attack on tourists at Pahalgam in Kashmir on April 22.
Islamabad banned flights operated by Indian carriers from using its airspace from April 24 and the ban has been extended till August 24, 2025 so far. This was in the wake of measures taken by India in response to the terrorist attack on tourists at Pahalgam on April 22 that left at least 26 dead and wounded many others.
Pakistan's closure of its airspace to Indian flights has hit some 600 west-bound international flights of mostly Air India and IndiGo in the first five days since the airspace closure. The forced diversions that also led to around 120 flights being forced to make an extra stop to refuel when flying to Europe, North America and other destinations that involve overflying Pakistan, data shared by online travel agents and flight tracking platforms with Moneycontrol showed.
Indian carriers are being forced to reroute international flights over Mumbai and Ahmedabad, turning over the Arabian Sea to head to Muscat, and then flying to their destination.
The fall in the airline's net profit was cushioned by the fall of aviation turbine fuel prices during the quarter. The airline's aircraft fuel expenses fell to Rs 5,832.6 crore during Q1FY26 from Rs 6,416.5 crore a year ago.
When compared year-on-year, ATF prices in April 2025 stood at Rs 89,441.18 per Kilo Litre, 11.4 percent lower at than Rs 100,893.63 per Kilo Litre in April 2024. Similarly, jet fuel in May 2025 stood at Rs 85,486.8 per Kilo Litre, 15.9 percent lower when compared to Rs 101,642.88/kl in the same period in 2024. In June 2025 jet fuel cost airlines Rs 83,072.55/kl when compared to Rs 94,969.01/kl in the same period in 2024.
IndiGo's surge in revenue was led by a rise in domestic travel during the quarter, as demand for domestic travel in India has continued to surge for the past six quarters. Air passenger traffic rose 4.4 percent on year in Q1FY26 to 419.76 lakh passengers carried during the quarter.
IndiGo carried 270.25 lakh domestic passengers in the June 2025 quarter, 10.15 percent higher than the same period last year, the garnering a market share of 64.4 percent. In Q1FY25 the airlines had carried 245.33 lakh domestic passengers for a market share of 61 percent.
IndiGo missed market expectations with its Q1FY2026 results, analysts had expected the airline to report a bottomline of Rs 2,430.2 crore on a topline of Rs 21,350 crore.
"The June quarter was shaped by significant external challenges that created headwinds for the entire aviation sector. Despite these industry wide disruptions, we reported a net profit of Rs 2,176.3 crore with a net profit margin of around 11% for the quarter ended June 2025," CEO Pieter Elbers said.
He added that the revenue environment saw moderation, and looking forward, IndiGo remains optimistic about the growth of air travel.
For the quarter, the company said its passenger ticket revenues stood at Rs 17,791.7 crore up 7.8 percent when compared to the same quarter a year ago and ancillary revenues at Rs 2,153.4 crore were up 22.1 percent compared to the same period a year ago.
At the operating level, earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, amortisation and rent cost (EBITDAR) profit or consolidated operating profit for the quarter came in at Rs 5,738.6 crore as against an operating profit of Rs 5,811 crore in the year-ago quarter.
Available seat kilometres (ASK) rose 16.4 percent on a year-on-year basis to 42.3 billion, while revenue passenger kilometres (RPK) rose 13.5 percent on-year to 35.7 billion.
The load factor for the no-frill airline stood at 84.6 percent at the end of the June quarter as against 86.7 percent in the year-ago period.
The operating performance was marred by a rise in the airline's airport fees and charges, employee benefits and supplementary rentals and aircraft repair and maintenance (net) cost as revenue per available seat kilometre (RASK) stood at Rs 4.86, whereas cost per ASK (CASK) was at Rs 4.31.
The airlines' RASK fell 10 percent from a year ago, while CASK fell 6.8 percent (nearly half the RASK) from a year ago.
InterGlobe Aviation's yield per passenger fell to Rs 4.98 in the June quarter from Rs 5.24 a year ago, the company said.
The company's total debt rose 30.4 percent on year to Rs 68,488.4 crore in the June quarter, while total cash rose by 31.8 percent to Rs 49,405.7 crore, including free cash of Rs 34,801.9 crore.
The airline had 416 aircraft in its fleet at the end of the quarter, down from 434 in the previous quarter. IndiGo operated at a peak of 2,269 daily flights during the quarter including non-scheduled flight. IndiGo ended damp lease of 12 A320ceo aircraft, three Boeing 737 aircraft and one Boeing 777 aircraft during the quarter which helped the airline manage costs and prevent a further drop in its net profit.
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