SpiceJet (SG, Delhi International) has secured its first tranche of fresh capital from new majority shareholder and promoter, Ajay Singh, a week after the Indian authorities gave their final approval to his acquisition of previous owner Kal Airways Pvt Ltd and Kalanithi Maran's 60.31% stake in the airline.
Of the original INR15 billion (USD243 million) promised by Singh in his original investment plan for Spicejet, INR5 billion (USD81 million) has now been received with outstanding employee salaries and back service taxes having now been serviced. A second tranche of INR4 billion (USD65 million) is expected later this week while the remaining INR6 billion (USD97 million) is due in April.
"We are current on salary and service tax payments, and have started making payments to all our suppliers on time. There is still a lot to be done but all indicators are good with our load factor at around 80% and on time performance (OTP) of 90% in the current month," the airline's Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Kiran Koteshwar, told India's DNA news agency. "We are paying oil companies on time and airports are being paid on a daily basis. As and when cash comes in, we will clear all dues of our creditors."
In December last year, the Indian parliament learned that SpiceJet's debt to foreign and local suppliers, airport operators and oil companies stood at INR12.3 billion rupees (USD198.3 million).
Singh is expected to team up with JPMorgan Chase and a local investor as part of his investment strategy in the struggling LCC.
