IndiGo owner sees more passengers

Interglobe Aviation Ltd, which operates India’s top airline IndiGo, yesterday said it expected passenger capacity to grow by nearly a third this fiscal year, as the company reported its highest-ever quarterly profit in the June quarter, benefiting from the collapse of Jet Airways.Interglobe and its peer SpiceJet Ltd have both seen a surge in passenger growth, after Jet Airways, once the country’s biggest private carrier, declared bankruptcy.IndiGo is now India’s largest airline by market capitalisation.The company expects available seat kilometres (ASK), a measure of its passenger carrying capacity, to grow 30% in the financial year ending March 2020 and sees a 28% ASK jump in the current quarter.Interglobe’s founders have recently been involved in an escalating dispute, dragging down the parent’s shares.However, internal strifes did not impact the New Delhi-based company’s net profit for the three months ended June 30, which rose to over Rs12bn ($174.29mn) from Rs277.9mn a year ago.Revenue rose 45% to Rs94.2bn. IndiGo’s yield, a measure of the average passenger fare per mile, rose 12.8% during the quarter, reflecting the rising passenger preference for the airline, while its ASK rose 30.3% during the period. Interglobe shares closed 0.28% higher on Friday, amid a broader market that ended 1.53% down.