Jet Airways may see a rise in debt over next two quarters, could be a short-term blip, says CFO Amit Aggarwal

Mumbai: After posting a massive loss in the March quarter, private carrier Jet Airways on Thursday said it may see a rise in debt for the next one or two quarters. “The (March) quarter had negative cash flow generation. May be for a quarter or two you would see the debt going up. There could be a short-term blip in terms of rise in the debt,” Jet Airways chief financial officer and deputy chief executive officer Amit Aggarwal said during a post-earnings analysts call. Agarwal said the airline has already reduced its debt by Rs 3,000 crore over the last two-and-a-half year, adding that the overall strategy of reducing debt would continue on an ongoing basis.

As on 31 March, 2018, the airline’s gross debt stood at Rs 8,424 crore, of which Rs 2,054 crore was aircraft-related, Agarwal said.

With Jet Airways incurring a huge fourth-quarter loss of Rs 1,036 crore on high oil prices and weaker rupee, its auditors have said the “appropriateness of assumption of going concern” for the company depends on its ability to raise necessary funds, among other factors. The Naresh Goyal-owned full service carrier reported a quarterly loss for the first time in eleven quarters. [caption id=“attachment_3419832” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Jet Airways. Representational image. Reuters[/caption] Jet Airways’ chief executive officer Vinay Dube said that the airline will be inducting 11 Boeing 737 Max aircrafts in the fleet by March next year with the first two expected to arrive next month. “We have recently placed orders for additional 75 B737 Max aircraft, taking the total Max order book to 150. These aircraft will start inducting into our fleet from this year, with two joining the fleet in June,” he said. For financial year 2017-18, the airline reported a standalone net loss of Rs 767.62 crore, against a net profit of Rs 1,482.52 crore earlier.