Troubled carrier Kingfisher Airlines' loss widened to Rs 1,151.53 crore (Rs 11.51 billion) in the fourth quarter of 2011-12 due to steep hike in fuel prices and sharp depreciation of the rupee.
It had net loss of Rs 355.55 crore (Rs 3.55 billion) in the January-March quarter of 2010-11, Kingfisher said in a filing to the BSE.
It has been facing financial troubles for almost a year now.
The airline, which never made a profit since inception in May 2005, posted a net loss of Rs 2,328 crore (Rs 23.28 billion) in 2011-12 against Rs 1,027.39 crore (Rs 10.27 billion) in 2010-11.
"Operational cost savings were offset by a steep hike in fuel prices and sharp depreciation of the Indian rupee, which negatively impacted over 70 per
cent of the cost base," it said in a statement.
During the quarter, income from operations stood at Rs 741.28 crore (Rs 7.41 billion) as against Rs 1,626.65 crore (Rs 16.26 billion).
Because of paucity of funds, the air carrier now operates only 110 flights a day with a fleet of 20 aircraft as against 400 flights per day last year with 66 planes.
"The company has a focused fleet re-induction plan and hopes to be back to full-scale operations in the next 12 months backed by a recapitalisation plan that the company is actively pursuing and confident of achieving," Kingfisher said.
Kingfisher Airlines has a debt of Rs 7,057.08 crore (Rs 70.57 billion).
The airline had a 6.4 per cent market share in March, and was ranked below the budget carrier GoAir, which cornered 7.5 per cent market share in the same period.
