SpiceJet delays fiscal 2023 results since a key audit member is incapacitated
Due to the physical incapacity of a significant member of SpiceJet Ltd’s audit committee, the airline has postponed the release of its fiscal 2022–23 financial statements, the company stated in a filing with the stock market today.
Due to the persistent ill condition of a significant member of the Audit Committee, the Company was unable to convene the meeting of the Audit Committee and Board Members in the past for approval of financial statements for the financial year ended March 31, 2023, according to a statement from the Company.
After March 31, 2023, the cash-strapped airline was given three months by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to announce its financial results by June 30, 2023.
SpiceJet has postponed reporting its financial results for the March quarter for the second year in a row. The financial figures for SpiceJet’s January-March 2021–22 and April–June 2022–23 were published jointly in September of the previous year.
An attempted ransomware attack that affected the airline’s operations in May 2022 caused it to postpone its financial reporting.
SpiceJet has been losing money since the 2018–19 fiscal year. In FY2018-19, FY2019-20, FY2020-21, and FY2021-22, it had a combined net loss of Rs 302 crore, Rs 937 crore, Rs 1,030 crore, and Rs 1,744 crore, respectively.
The low-cost airline posted a cumulative financial loss of Rs. 1,507 crore for the first three-quarters of FY23. According to statistics from aviation analytics company Cirium, it was operating 1,123 flights per week in June of this year, which is a 55.4 percent decrease from June of previous year.
As many as 25 of SpiceJet’s 76 aircraft were grounded as of May of this year due to problems with aircraft lessors. Wilmington Trust SP Services Ltd., a Dublin-based aircraft lessor, submitted a request to the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) earlier this month to begin bankruptcy proceedings against SpiceJet.
Shares of SpiceJet have fallen more than 29% so far this year.
