IndiGo Reports Sharp Decline in Q3 Profit Amid One-Time Costs, Sees Sequential Recovery
InterGlobe Aviation, the parent company of India's largest airline IndiGo, announced its financial results for the December quarter of the current financial year (Q3 FY26) on Thursday, January 22. The company reported a significant 77.55% year-on-year (YoY) drop in its consolidated profit attributable to owners, which stood at ₹5,498 million. This marks a stark contrast to the same quarter last year, when IndiGo had posted a robust profit of ₹24,488 million.
Sequential Improvement and Revenue Growth
Despite the steep annual decline, the airline's performance showed a healthy sequential recovery. In the previous quarter (Q2 FY26), IndiGo had incurred a substantial loss of ₹25,817 million, making the Q3 profit a notable turnaround on a quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) basis.
On the revenue front, IndiGo reported a 6.2% YoY increase in consolidated revenue from operations, which rose to ₹2,34,719 million in Q3 FY26, up from ₹2,21,107 million in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. Sequentially, revenue from operations witnessed an impressive 26.5% jump, indicating strong operational momentum.
Key Factors Impacting Q3 Performance
The company attributed the subdued profit performance to several one-time impacts and exceptional items. These included:
- A one-time impact of ₹9,693 million due to the implementation of new labour laws.
- An exceptional item of ₹5,772 million related to operational disruptions.
- Currency movement pertaining to dollar-based future obligations aggregating to ₹10,350 million.
These factors collectively weighed on the bottom line, despite the growth in top-line revenue.
Operational and Financial Highlights
IndiGo's Q3 results revealed several key operational metrics and financial highlights:
- The company's EBITDAR (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, Amortization, and Rent) slipped by 0.8% YoY to ₹60,084 million. Excluding foreign exchange impacts, EBITDAR declined by 5.5% YoY to ₹70,434 million.
- IndiGo's capacity increased by 11.2% to 45.4 billion Available Seat Kilometers (ASK) in Q3 FY26, while the number of passengers carried rose by 2.8% to 31.9 million.
- On the cost front, Fuel Cost per Available Seat Kilometer (CASK) reduced by 2.8% YoY to ₹1.53. However, CASK excluding fuel and forex impact increased by 2.2% to ₹2.96.
- The airline maintained a strong liquidity position with a total cash balance of ₹5,16,069 million as of December 31, 2025. This comprised ₹3,69,445 million of free cash and ₹1,46,624 million of restricted cash.
- IndiGo's total debt, including capitalised operating lease liability, stood at ₹7,68,583 million. The capitalised operating lease liability alone was ₹5,24,784 million at the end of the quarter.
Fleet Expansion and Market Response
As of December 31, 2025, IndiGo's fleet comprised 440 aircraft, including a mix of Airbus A320 CEOs, A320 NEOs, A321 NEOs, A321XLR, ATRs, and freighters, along with damp-leased Boeing aircraft. The company reported a net increase of 23 passenger aircraft during the December quarter, underscoring its ongoing expansion strategy.
In a related corporate development, IndiGo announced the re-appointment of M/s Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India LLP as its internal auditors.
Reflecting investor sentiment, IndiGo's share price closed 1.15% higher at ₹4,913.80 on the BSE on the day of the results announcement, January 22.
