The shares of SpiceJet dropped more than 5 percent on September 8 after the airline reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 233.85 crore for the first quarter of the financial year 2026, as against a net profit of Rs 158.3 crore in the same period last year.
The company released its results for the April-June quarter in the post market hours of September 5. The airline's revenue from operations meanwhile dropped around 34 percent year-on-year to Rs 1,120.2 crore during Q1 FY26. It had reported revenue from operations at Rs 1,708.2 crore in Q1 FY25.
Passenger revenue per available seat kilometre (PAX RASK) stood at Rs 4.74 during the quarter. Passenger load factor (PLF) meanwhile was reported at 86 percent.
Elara Capital cut its target price for the stock by more than 37 percent to Rs 39 per share after the release of the results, while maintaining its 'Accumulate' rating. The latest target price implies an upside potential of nearly 13 percent over the previous closing price.
"A significant uptick in fleet size is awaited for growth. We trim our FY26E EPS estimates to negative INR 8.1 from INR 10.2 profit previously. We introduce FY27E and FY28E EPS at INR 0.4 and INR 1.4, assuming a decline in CASK to INR 4.7 by FY27E/28E from INR 5.4 in FY26E. We assume RASK during FY26E-28E at INR 5.2-5.4 and 41% passenger CAGR in FY25-28E due to fleet growth to 52 from ~20 currently,” the domestic brokerage said.
Speaking about the net loss, SpiceJet said that it was impacted by costs related to grounded aircraft and expenses towards their return to service. It however added that its net worth position strengthened significantly, rising to Rs 446 crore during the quarter under review, as compared to the earlier deficit of Rs 2,398 crore in Q1 FY25.
"The results were significantly impacted by geo‐political situation with a neighbouring country and airspace restrictions in key markets, which led to subdued leisure travel demand," SpiceJet said.
Ajay Singh, Chairman and Managing Director of SpiceJet, said, "This quarter’s results reflect the extraordinary challenges faced by the aviation industry, including geopolitical turbulence, restricted air routes, and supply chain disruptions. Despite these headwinds, SpiceJet continues to demonstrate resilience. We are taking decisive steps to enhance fleet reliability, reduce costs, and expand our network. With India’s aviation and tourism sectors among the fastest‐growing globally, we remain confident of a strong recovery trajectory in the coming quarters."
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SpiceJet shares later recovered some losses and were trading over 2 percent lower at Rs 33.62 apiece. This came after the company in an exchange filing announced that it has completed the full payment of $24 Million to Credit Suisse, thereby fulfilling in entirety the terms of the settlement agreement signed between the two parties in May 2022.
The stock has fallen around 8 percent in the past five days, and around 33 percent in the past six months. The shares of the airline have declined more than 41 percent in the past one year.
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