IndiGo expects 'early double-digit' growth in capacity next year

InterGlobe Aviation, the parent company of low-cost carrier IndiGo, is expecting early double-digit growth in its capacity in FY25, the company says in an analyst presentation on Friday.

The low-cost carrier expects the addition of more than one aircraft per week and an additional 10 destinations. As of February 29, 2024, the fleet capacity stands at 366 aircraft. Notably, in FY24, the airline carried 100 million passengers.

Meanwhile, the airline also expects to increase its employee headcount to 5,500-6,000 in FY25. In FY24, the airline added more than 4,500 employees, lower than its FY24 guidance of 5,000 employees. In FY24, the airline covered 115 destinations with the addition of seven international destinations and 19 routes.

The development comes as the low-cost carrier reportedly aims to purchase wide-body aircraft. As per reports, IndiGo, which commands more than 60% market share, is considering to purchase about 30 Airbus SE A350s.

As passengers' appetite for travel continues to increase, the airline aims to double its size by the end of this decade, transforming it from a domestic carrier to a global aviation giant. Last year, the airline’s parent InterGlobe Aviation placed a historic order of 500 new aircraft with Airbus. This order will give it a steady stream of deliveries between 2030 and 2035. It also has previous orders of 480 aircraft which are yet to be delivered. With this additional order of 500 aircraft for 2030-2035, IndiGo's order book has almost 1,000 aircraft.

In the October to December quarter of FY24, the low-cost carrier reported a 111% year-on-year growth in its net profit at ₹2,998.12 crore, as against ₹1,442.6 crore in the same period last year. The company attributed higher revenue, strong demand and higher fares as the reasons behind an increase in December quarter profit.

Meanwhile,  the company's revenue from operations surged 30.3% YoY to ₹19,452.15 crore in the December quarter, as against ₹14,993 crore in the same period last year. The total income of IndiGo jumped 30.2% year-on-year (YoY) to ₹20,062 crore, including other income of ₹610 crore, from ₹15,410 crore in the corresponding period last year. For the quarter, passenger ticket revenues were ₹17,157 crore, an increase of 30.3% and ancillary revenues were ₹1,760 crore, up 23.8% compared to the same period last year.

At 2:56 pm, the share price of IndiGo was trading 0.27% lower at ₹3,281.50. In contrast to this, the broader BSE Sensex was up 340.87 points or 0.47% at 72,982.06. The company’s market capitalisation stood at ₹1,26,678 crore with 11,798 shares exchanging hands on the BSE, as against the two-week average of 27.39 shares.