Akasa Air Reports Rs 1,670 Crore Loss in FY24; CFO Ankur Goel Expects Improved Performance This Fiscal Year

Akasa Air's financial results for the fiscal year ending March 2024 reveal a significant increase in losses, reaching Rs 1,670.06 crore. This comes despite a rise in total income to Rs 3,144.38 crore during the same period. The airline, operational for over two years, had reported a loss of Rs 744.53 crore in the previous year, according to data from Tofler.

Representative image

Financial Performance and Challenges

The airline's Chief Financial Officer, Ankur Goel, stated that Akasa Air remains net cash positive despite the operating level cash burn. He expressed optimism about improved performance in the current fiscal year. Goel explained that initial years for airlines involve heavy investments in personnel, fleet, training, infrastructure, and network, which typically result in losses.

In March 2024, Akasa Air's fleet comprised 24 aircraft, facilitating over 110 daily flights. On a standalone basis, the airline's total income for FY 2024 was Rs 31,443.83 million compared to Rs 7,778.48 million the previous year. However, the net loss for FY 2024 was Rs 16,700.66 million against Rs 7,444.27 million in FY 2023.

Expenditure and Strategic Plans

During FY 2023-24, Akasa Air's total expenditure surged to Rs 4,814.44 crore from Rs 1,522.27 crore the previous year. Goel noted that airlines generally require several years to stabilise financially before achieving profitability. He highlighted that Akasa Air's capacity tripled in FY 2023-24, leading to a 10% rise in Revenue per Available Seat Kilometre (RASK).

As of March 31, 2024, Akasa Air had accumulated losses amounting to Rs 24,444.66 million. This resulted in a negative net worth of Rs 20,097.71 million and current liabilities exceeding current assets by Rs 2,107.67 million.

Goel outlined key strategies for achieving profitability: improving yield, reducing costs, increasing capacity, and expanding internationally. "Our FY25 performance will be better than FY24 and our FY26 performance will be better than FY25," he stated.

Akasa Air began operations on August 7, 2022, and launched international services on March 28, 2024.