Jet clocks Rs 129 cr profit in first half

Jet Airways has recorded a profit of Rs 129.37 crore in the first six months of the current financial year. This is about 79 per cent of the total profit of Rs 163.10 crore that the airline earned in the whole of 2003-04.

For the first six months of the current financial year, the largest Indian private airline, according to its draft prospectus for the initial prospectus filed with the Securities and Exchanges Board of India, has recorded revenue of Rs 1,966.67 crore.

In the last financial year, the company's total revenue was Rs 3,565.73 crore, a growth of 21.2 per cent over Rs 2,942.09 crore earned in 2002-03. In comparison to this, Indian Airlines' revenue grew over 13 per cent from Rs 4,101.5 crore in 2002-03 to Rs 4,649.8 crore in 2003-04.

According to the financial data submitted by the carrier, it made a turnaround in 2003-04 after two years of making losses.

In 2001-02, Jet recorded a loss of Rs 13.43 crore, which shot up to Rs 244.45 crore in 2002-03. In 2001-02, its revenue was Rs 2, 527.61 crore, which grew to Rs 2,649.7 crore in 2002-03.

This comes at a time, when the airline has seen an increase of 6.26 per cent increase in expenses from Rs 3,187.73 crore in 2002-03 to Rs 3,387.59 crore in 2003-04.

The expenses on aviation turbine fuel (ATF) has also shot up by 14.03 per cent in 2003-04 to Rs 741.78 crore from Rs 650.4 crore in 2002-03. The offer document also said that Jet Airways has entered into lease agreements for seven Boeing 737-800 aircraft, which the carrier expects to be delivered in 2005.

In December 2004, Jet has also paid Boeing a refundable security deposit to acquire 10 additional Boeing 737-800 aircraft with CFM56-7B24 engines. The expected date of delivery of such aircraft is between January 2006 and October 2007.