Jet Airways tanks on bourses as Q2 net loss soars 8-fold

Shares of Jet Airways on Thursday fell more than six per cent in morning trade on the bourses after the Naresh Goyal-run Jet Airways reported an eight-fold increase in losses at Rs 891 crore (Rs 8.91 billion) in the September quarter.

Jet Airways on Thursday blamed a steep fall in the rupee, slowdown in the domestic aviation market and rise in fuel costs for a sharp widening in standalone net loss at Rs 891 crore in the July-September quarter.

It had logged Rs 99.7 crore (Rs 997 million) loss in the year-ago period.

Reacting to the numbers, shares of Jet Airways opened on a weak note and then slumped 6.06 per cent to Rs 325.05 on the BSE. Similar movement was witnessed on the National Stock Exchange as well where the company opened at Rs 330, then fell 6.42 per cent to an intra-day low of Rs 324.15.

The decline in the counter assumes significance as the broader market was trading in the positive territory with significant gains. At 1126 hours, the 30-share benchmark index Sensex was trading at 20,943.49, higher by 175.61 points.

Market experts said the decline in the counter was largely because investors dumped the stock after the company reported its worst quarterly loss on record.

Jet Airways Group operates more than 550 flights a day with its two brands, the full-service Jet Airways and the low-cost JetLite.

The consolidated losses were much higher at Rs 998.5 crore (Rs 9.98 billion).

The airline did not offer a comparative figure either this quarter or in the corresponding quarter last fiscal, when it offered only standalone numbers.