SpiceJet posts quarterly loss on jet fuel prices

NEW DELHI, Aug 30 (Reuters) - Low-cost carrier SpiceJet Ltd (SPJT.BO: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) posted a quarterly loss, hurt by more than 61 percent jump in domestic jet fuel prices, but said capacity reduction and softening crude oil will result in better revenue realisation.

Indian airline industry has fallen on hard times as monthly fare hikes on soaring jet fuel prices, which make up 45 percent of an airline's operating costs, have resulted in a fall in passenger traffic leading to industry-wide capacity reduction.

India has set up a committee to recommend measures to help the domestic airline sector deal with losses that may double to nearly $2 billion in 2008/09.

SpiceJet, which has a tenth of India's domestic airline market, reported April-June quarter net loss of 1.02 billion rupees. It excludes a loss of 272 million rupees on account of restatement of forex debt, it said in a statement issued late Friday evening.

It did not provide year ago numbers.

SpiceJet, which has a fleet of 15 Boeing (BA.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) aircraft, reported a net profit of 185.3 million rupees in the year ago quarter, Bombay Stock Exchange .BSESN website showed.

Operating revenue for the quarter rose more than 72 percent to 4.57 billion rupees.

"SpiceJet has curtailed its capacity increase foreseeing a subsequent impact of decline in passengers for the current year," Partha Sarathi Basu, chief financial officer said.

SpiceJet expects industry wide capacity reduction will reduce the demand-supply mismatch and help it realise better revenues going forward, it said.

A 22 percent drop in oil prices since mid-July would contribute towards a more stable industry scenario and help the market to mature, Chief Commercial Officer Samyukth Sridharan said. (Reporting by Rakesh Sharma; Editing by Tomasz Janowski)