IndiGo reports profits of Rs650 crore

New Delhi: India's largest low-fare carrier, IndiGo, has reported a third straight year of profit, up 18% to Rs650 crore, for the year ended March. This was revealed by InterGlobe Aviation Pvt Ltd, owners of IndiGo, in their annual filing to the aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation. The carrier had reported profits of Rs551 crore last year.

IndiGo began commercial operations in 2006.

While market analysts said some of these profits would have resulted from sale and leaseback of aircraft, IndiGo president Aditya Ghosh said the performance was because of cost control and not deviating from its model. This includes paid-for meals, high aircraft utilization and tightly framed maintenance contracts that have helped the airline retain its focus, he said.

''The reason for the profits is that we're keeping our costs very low. We've seen a 48% increase in revenue this year,'' he said. ''There are obviously hundreds of items that go into doing that.''

Gurgaon-based IndiGo has 231 Airbus aircraft on order for delivery over the next 15 years. In 2010-11, it added 12 A320s, bringing its fleet to 38 in March. The carrier only uses A320s.

According to Ghosh, not all of the 12 A320s added to the fleet during the year were on sale and leaseback, and some continued to be on the airline's books.