NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Jet Airways Ltd
Operating profit reached 30 million rupees ($486,000) for the three months ended Dec. 31. That compared with a loss of 2.84 billion rupees a year earlier.
The halving of oil prices since June has provided financial relief to Indian carriers, most of which have lost money for the last two years because of low-fare competition as well as being subject to some of the world's highest operating and fuel costs.
The industry has also benefited from a cut in capacity by SpiceJet Ltd
Jet, India's second-biggest airline by market share after privately held IndiGo, is the country's first carrier to report third-quarter results.
The airline, 24 percent owned by Abu Dhabi's Etihad, last year laid out a three-year restructuring plan centred on cutting costs and boosting efficiency, to return to profitability having not reported an annual profit since 2007.
"While the global and local operating conditions have eased, we only expect to see the real impact of the lower fuel price in the next quarter," said Cramer Ball, CEO of Jet Airways, in a statement.
Aviation consultancy CAPA said in a report last month that Indian airlines could see total savings of $400 million in 2015 from lower fuel costs.
That, together with an improved outlook for India's economy and lower sales taxes, could mark the beginning of a structural turnaround for the sector, according to CAPA, although that does not guarantee profitability because competition for fares remains fierce.
Mumbai-based Jet reported a net profit in its second quarter only due to one-off gains, including from the sale of its frequent flyer programme.
Shares of Jet, up by two-thirds since the start of 2014, closed 1.35 percent higher ahead of the earnings release, versus a 0.58 percent loss in the benchmark index <.NSEI>.
($1 = 61.7737 rupees)
(Reporting by Tommy Wilkes; Editing by Jane Merriman and David Evans)
