NEW DELHI :
GoFirst, the airline operated by the Wadia Group, reported a 53.6% annual rise in its total revenue for the September quarter, at ₹752.86 crore, on the back of a revival in domestic air passenger traffic.
The airline’s passenger revenue during the September quarter was ₹555.85 crore, a 76% rise from the same period of the previous year.
“The initiatives and strategic steps taken by the company to bring down costs on a sustainable basis has led to positive Ebitdar for the six-month period ended 30 September 2021 and for Q2, July to September 2021, the company has reported an Ebitdar of 13.9% at ₹104.64 crore,” a person with direct knowledge of the matter said.
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization, and restructuring or rent costs (Ebitdar) is a metric used to measure a company’s financial performance.
“The efforts by the company to rationalize and control costs through structural changes has not only resulted in realigning its cost structure to the ultra-low-cost carrier (ULCC) but has also ensured that these changes and savings are strategic, structural, and sustainable, and this has resulted in the company turning cash positive even after payment of all costs, including lease rentals since 21 September on a month-on-month basis,” the person cited above said, requesting anonymity.
The airline, however, reported a loss of ₹923 crore during April-September 2021 period though its total revenue rose by 105% to `1,202.90 crore during the same period.
India’s air passenger traffic has seen significant growth since June, with the easing of restrictions imposed to contain the spread of coronavirus following a steady decline in fresh covid-19 cases, giving people more confidence to travel.
Domestic air passenger traffic rose 67% year-on-year and 24% sequentially to about 8.8 million…