SpiceJet first quarter profit up about 18 per cent

New Delhi: Air carrier SpiceJet Ltd posted a rise of about 18 per cent in quarterly net profit on Thursday.

The airline's standalone net profit, which excludes results of units SpiceJet Merchandise and SpiceJet Technic, came in at Rs 175 crore ($27.33 million) in the first quarter ended June 30, compared with Rs 149 crore a year ago.

Operating revenues stood at Rs 1,869 crore for the said quarter as against Rs 1,521 crore for the same quarter last year, the airline said in an official statement.

"From being on the brink of a near shutdown to being lauded for creating thousands of jobs in the world's largest economy within a span of mere ten quarters, exemplifies SpiceJet's amazing turnaround. We had an eventful quarter as we took off under the UDAN scheme and launched operations on two routes," said Ajay Singh Chief Managing Director of SpiceJet.

The airline claimed that it has registered 'ten successive profitable quarters'.

Passenger yields, a measure of fares and distance flown, rose 9 per cent during the quarter, while average load factor was 94.07 per cent.