<p><em><strong>By Ragini Saxena</strong></em></p>.<p>SpiceJet Ltd said it’s in talks with bankers to raise as much as $200 million (Rs 1,591 crore) in fresh capital after reporting a worse than expected quarterly loss, as the Indian airline looks to work a way out of financial distress.</p>.<p>The carrier plans to also spin off its cargo business into a separate company, SpiceXpress, by the end of next month and add more freighters in the fiscal year 2023, Chairman Ajay Singh said in the filing Wednesday. </p>.<p>SpiceJet Chief Financial Officer Sanjeev Taneja, who took charge in 2020, resigned effective immediately with the airline deep in crisis. The board has identified a replacement, who will take over in September. </p>.<p>The no-frills carrier posted a loss of Rs 789 crore for the three months through June, according to the filing. That was worse than the average analyst estimates of a Rs 627 crore deficit.</p>.<p><strong>Also Read | <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/business/business-news/dgca-deregisters-two-more-boeing-737s-held-by-spicejet-1141032.html" target="_blank">DGCA deregisters two more Boeing 737s held by SpiceJet</a></strong></p>.<p>Even as forecasts for India’s aviation sector look brighter with local traffic surging 94 per cent in July, SpiceJet, which has slipped from No 2 to No 5 in the rankings, may find it difficult to make a comeback. Jet Airways India Ltd is planning to resume flying by September and Air India Ltd is headed for a revamp under Tata Sons’ management.</p>.<p>“The industry has been witness to one of the most severe operating environments in the recent past which impacted the progress and recovery,” Singh said. High jet-fuel prices and depreciating rupee were “major contributors,” he said.</p>.<p>Credit rating firm ICRA Ltd estimates that India’s airlines lost $3.4 billion in the year through March, after the omicron coronavirus variant disrupted local airlines’ early recovery following the deadly delta wave in 2021.</p>.<p>SpiceJet faces several challenges. India’s aviation regulator has capped the number of seats the carrier can sell at 50 per cent for eight weeks after it reported a string of mid-air malfunctions. The regulator has said the airline failed to build “safe, efficient and reliable” air services and in July summoned it to explain the incidents.</p>.<p>Wednesday saw the release of two quarters of financial results in one day after SpiceJet postponed its earnings following a ransomware attack that cancelled and delayed its flights.</p>.<p><em>($1 = Rs 79.58)</em></p>
<p><em><strong>By Ragini Saxena</strong></em></p>.<p>SpiceJet Ltd said it’s in talks with bankers to raise as much as $200 million (Rs 1,591 crore) in fresh capital after reporting a worse than expected quarterly loss, as the Indian airline looks to work a way out of financial distress.</p>.<p>The carrier plans to also spin off its cargo business into a separate company, SpiceXpress, by the end of next month and add more freighters in the fiscal year 2023, Chairman Ajay Singh said in the filing Wednesday. </p>.<p>SpiceJet Chief Financial Officer Sanjeev Taneja, who took charge in 2020, resigned effective immediately with the airline deep in crisis. The board has identified a replacement, who will take over in September. </p>.<p>The no-frills carrier posted a loss of Rs 789 crore for the three months through June, according to the filing. That was worse than the average analyst estimates of a Rs 627 crore deficit.</p>.<p><strong>Also Read | <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/business/business-news/dgca-deregisters-two-more-boeing-737s-held-by-spicejet-1141032.html" target="_blank">DGCA deregisters two more Boeing 737s held by SpiceJet</a></strong></p>.<p>Even as forecasts for India’s aviation sector look brighter with local traffic surging 94 per cent in July, SpiceJet, which has slipped from No 2 to No 5 in the rankings, may find it difficult to make a comeback. Jet Airways India Ltd is planning to resume flying by September and Air India Ltd is headed for a revamp under Tata Sons’ management.</p>.<p>“The industry has been witness to one of the most severe operating environments in the recent past which impacted the progress and recovery,” Singh said. High jet-fuel prices and depreciating rupee were “major contributors,” he said.</p>.<p>Credit rating firm ICRA Ltd estimates that India’s airlines lost $3.4 billion in the year through March, after the omicron coronavirus variant disrupted local airlines’ early recovery following the deadly delta wave in 2021.</p>.<p>SpiceJet faces several challenges. India’s aviation regulator has capped the number of seats the carrier can sell at 50 per cent for eight weeks after it reported a string of mid-air malfunctions. The regulator has said the airline failed to build “safe, efficient and reliable” air services and in July summoned it to explain the incidents.</p>.<p>Wednesday saw the release of two quarters of financial results in one day after SpiceJet postponed its earnings following a ransomware attack that cancelled and delayed its flights.</p>.<p><em>($1 = Rs 79.58)</em></p>