Mumbai-based Jet Airways hasn’t seen a profit in nine of the past 11 fiscal years.
Mumbai: Jet Airways India Ltd. has missed a payment to Indian lenders as the country’s second largest airline by passengers struggles to raise funds after losses worsened a cash crunch.
The missed payment prompted a downgrade on ratings of its loans and bonds by credit assessor ICRA to D, a score that signifies that borrowers are in default or are expected to be soon.
The beleaguered carrier said in an exchange filing that payment of interest and principal installment due on Dec. 31 to a consortium of Indian banks led by State Bank of India “has been delayed due to temporary cashflow mismatch” and that the company “has engaged with them in relation to the same.”
The filing didn’t specify the amount due and didn’t provide further details.
Crushing fare wars are a hallmark of India’s intensely competitive aviation market, and Mumbai-based Jet Airways hasn’t seen a profit in nine of the past 11 fiscal years. The company reported its third straight quarterly loss in November with surging liabilities that signaled a deepening of financial distress. A weakening rupee also added to its woes. It has fallen behind on payments to staff and lessors.
Jet Airways has been talking to its foreign equity partner Etihad Airways PJSC and a clutch of financial investors to avoid potential defaults to lenders and lessors, people familiar with the matter said. It has also sought a short-term loan of 15 billion rupees ($216 million) from State Bank of India for working capital and the bank is currently conducting a forensic audit for possible approval of such a facility, according to the people.
The company didn’t have any immediate comment when contacted Wednesday.
In the last couple months, Jet Airways founder and chairman Naresh Goyal, along with Etihad Airways chief executive officer Tony Douglas, met Rajnish Kumar, chairman of India’s largest lender, State Bank of India, multiple times at its Mumbai headquarters to explore a resolution mechanism.
“Jet Airways continues to have negative networth due to accumulated losses and diminution in the value of its investments in its subsidiary Jet Lite (India) Ltd.,” ICRA said in its statement. “Furthermore, the liquidity strain has aggravated due to delays by the company in implementation of its liquidity initiatives.”-Bloomberg
Losses in nine of the last eleven years would sink the Titanic. Tragic denounement for a very professional, world class airline. Unlike Vijay Mallya – who also ran a fine airline – Naresh Goyal had a deep understanding of the working of the airline industry and its delicately poised profitability. Clearly the airline sector in India is on an unsustainable flight path, despite impressive growth in traffic volume. Makes one wonder how anyone believes Air India has a future.