Akasa Air saw its loss widen to Rs 1,670.06 crore in the financial year ended March 2024, even as the airline's total income jumped to Rs 3,144.38 crore during the same period.
The airline, which has been flying for over two years, had a loss after tax of Rs 744.53 crore in 2022–23, according to data accessed by business intelligence platform Tofler.
Financial performance will be better this fiscal
Cash burn is at an operating level, and Akasa Air is net cash positive, the airline's Chief Financial Officer, Ankur Goel, said and added that its performance will be better this fiscal.
"The foundational years of any airline are dedicated to investing in its people, fleet, training, operating infrastructure, and network, and hence no airline registers P&L profits in these years," he said in a statement to PTI.
At the end of March 2024, the carrier had a fleet of 24 planes and operated more than 110 flights daily.
IN A BIT SURPRISING DATA, #AkasaAir ✈ BACKED BY #RakeshJhunjhunwala HAS REPORTED A
— FINANCE KI SHALAA (@shalaa_finance) November 5, 2024
REVENUE GROWTH OF 340% TO ₹3069 cr IN FY24 FROM ₹700 cr.
OPERATING AT 24 FLEET OF AIRCRAFT AS OF FY24.
IN COMING TIMES AKASA AIR IS GOING TO CAPTURE A GOOD MRKT SHARE GIVING GOOD COMPETITION. pic.twitter.com/2O9JzphNqd
Standalone performance
"On a standalone basis, the company achieved a total income of Rs 3,144.38 crore for FY 2024 against the previous year's total income of Rs 777.84 crore.
"The company reported a net loss of Rs 16,700.66 million for FY 2024 against a net loss of Rs 7,44.42 crore for the previous year," SNV Aviation Pvt Ltd said in a filing to the corporate affairs ministry. SNV Aviation is the parent of Akasa Air.
During 2023-24, the carrier's total expenditure climbed to Rs 4,814.44 crore as against Rs 1,522.27 crore in the same period a year ago.
Airlines take few years to break even
According to Goel, airlines typically take a few years to stabilise before breaking even.
He also said the airline's capacity tripled in 2023-24, resulting in a 10 per cent increase in Revenue per Available Seat Kilometre (RASK).
Total losses as of FY24
"As of 31 March 2024, the company has accumulated losses aggregated to Rs 2,444.46 crore, which has resulted in a negative net worth of Rs 2,009.77 crore, and the current liabilities of the company exceed its current assets by Rs 210.76 crore," as per the filing.
Reduced cost and higher capacity is strategy to achieve profitablity
In the statement, Goel said that improved yield, reduced cost, and higher capacity coupled with international expansion, among other steps, are key aspects of our strategy to achieve profitability.
"Our FY25 performance will be better than FY24 and our FY26 performance will be better than FY25," he added.
Akasa Air commenced operations on August 7, 2022, and started international services on March 28, 2024.