SpiceJet rallies over 7% on fresh capital infusion plan

NEW DELHI: SpiceJet Ltd surged as much as 7.1 per cent in trade on Friday, after the low fare airliner expanded its authorized share capital on Thursday, which will help the airliner to raise more funds.

At 09:50 a.m.; SpiceJet pared some of the morning gains but was still trading 2.6 per cent higher at Rs 14.95. It hit a low of Rs 14.83 and a high of Rs 15.60 in trade today.

The Kalanithi Maran-controlled airline informed BSE after a board meeting that it will increase its authorized share capital to Rs 1,500 crore from Rs 1,000 crore.

The board has also decided to issue 18.91 crore convertible warrants to its promoter Kalanithi Maran, even as the loss-making airline looks out for external funding.

The indicative investment would be between Rs 275 crore and Rs 300 crore, a back-of-the-envelope calculation showed, ET reported.

Media baron Maran own 24.84 per cent in his own capacity in SpiceJet and another 33.62 per cent via his holding company KAL Airways as of end June.

Earlier this month, SpiceJet reported a net loss of Rs 124.10 crore for the quarter ended June, mainly bogged down by higher expenses.

The no-frills carrier had registered a net profit of Rs 50.56 crore for the corresponding period a year ago.

In the first quarter of current fiscal year, the airline saw its total income from operations slide to Rs 1,691.04 crore as against Rs 1,701.54 crore posted in the year-ago period, said a PTI report.