SpiceJet—Hope is in the air? A Case Study On Revival of SpiceJet Airlines

June 2015

RBSA Research Initiative Table of Contents

Sr. No. Particulars 1. Executive Summary 2. Background of the Indian Aviation Industry 3. SpiceJet – The Beginning 4. SpiceJet Share Price Performance 5. Turbulent Times 6. Serious Fleet Issues 7. Deep Discounts Backfired 8. SpiceJet Deal 9. Restructuring Plans 10. SpiceJet’s Q4 2015 Performance Update 11. Cost Breakdown Analysis of Q4 2015 12. New Avatar

SpiceJet—Hope is in the air? Page 2 of 16 1. Executive Summary

On October 30, 2014, at the Kempegowda International Airport Come 2014 – delayed flights, reschedulement at short notices in Bengaluru, passengers trying to board the early-morning and disgruntled flyers at counters had become symbolic with Chennai flight found no staff at the SpiceJet counters. They had SpiceJet. The airline was marred by ineffective leadership, gone on a flash strike for non-payment of dues. It was only policy decisions, rising fuel costs, cash crunch and hours later that an airline official came to inform the passengers accumulated losses. No one - the industry, the government, that their flight would take off in the afternoon. By December the flying public, wanted to see another airline go the 2014 , the airline announced that it was cancelling over 1,800 Kingfisher way. domestic flights — on average around 80 a day — during the Cometh the hour cometh the man! In month. January 2015, Ajay Singh, SpiceJet’s co- Not so long ago, in 2012, the airline founder and former promoter, acquired the “If you want to be a Millionaire, bagged the prestigious ’s ownership and management control of the start with a billion dollars and International Low Cost Carrier of the Year launch a new airline”–Richard airline from Kalanithi Maran and his by Travel Agents Association of India. Branson associates.

It celebrated a culture of exuberance and flamboyance. It’s cabin In May 2015, the airline swung to profit in the fourth crew celebrated Holi by dancing on board. The airline introduced quarter, beating analysts estimates, after six straight 'weekend uniforms' for employees— colourful tops paired with quarters of losses. Is Ajay Singh the airline’s saviour? jeans — and played rock songs on flights. SpiceJet was India’s Anybody’s guess! second most favourite airline.

SpiceJet—Hope is in the air? Page 3 of 16 2. Background of the Indian Aviation Industry

Indian Aviation Industry is one of the fastest growing airline industries in the Number game Current Market world. The last few years have been Size of the industry There are about Share 2015 without doubt some of the most 449 airports and challenging in India’s aviation history. Over- 1091 registered 1% 1% 1% capacity, high input costs, intense aircrafts in India competition and a negative policy and Today regulatory environment conspired to 9% threaten the viability of virtually the entire Output per annum Growth rate of 18% 9% 37% aviation value chain. India’s airlines alone per annum have lost more than USD10 billion Airport needed by ~500 airports 18% combined since FY2009. Airline debt stands 2020 at around USD11 billion, rising to close to USD14 billion if liabilities to vendors are Employees needed ~350,000 people 24% included. At an industry level airline debt is by 2020 Indigo now equivalent to more than 100% of Key challenges • Volatility in fuel airline revenue. prices SpiceJet Aviation experts feel that India has the • Safety issues Go Air potential to become the third largest • National policy Air Asia aviation market by 2020 and the largest by • Infrastructure 2030. There is large untapped potential for • Skilled labour Source: DGCA growth due to the fact that access to • Company aviation is still a dream for nearly 99.5% of specific its population. challenges

SpiceJet—Hope is in the air? Page 4 of 16 3. SpiceJet – The Beginning

SpiceJet is an Indian low-cost airline (a no-frills, discount or budget carrier airline) that generally offers low fares in exchange for eliminating many traditional passenger services.

As of March 2015, it is country's fourth largest airline by domestic passenger share (DGCA, March 2015).

Operates more than 270 daily flights to 41 destinations, including 34 Indian and 7 international cities

Uses a fleet of 737 Next Generation and Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 aircraft.

Began services in May 2005 and bookings were opened on 18th May, 2005 and the first flight was operated from Delhi to Mumbai on 24th May, 2005.

Marked it’s entry in the Indian skies with INR 99 fares for the first 99 days with 9,000 seats available at this rate.

In 2004, Ajay Singh along with NRI business family Kansagras, with investment interest in Africa, infused funds and leased 3 737-800 aircrafts and renamed it SpiceJet.

By 2008, SpiceJet became India's second-largest low-cost airline in terms of market share and was the most profitable airline in the country and the only profitable airline among NSE/BSE listed companies.

In June 2010, Indian media baron Kalanidhi Maran acquired 37.7% stake in Spicejet.

In 2012, Spicejet suffered loss of Rs 390 million owing to increase in global crude prices.

Kalanithi Maran increased his stake in Spicejet by investing Rs 1 billion in the airline. The airline returned to making profits at the end of 2012.

SpiceJet—Hope is in the air? Page 5 of 16 4. SpiceJet Share Price Performance

SpiceJet has

underperformed BSE 16-Nov-10: Kalanithi Maran further acquired 20-Feb-15: SpiceJet's existing 38.66% stake in the Company jointly with KAL promoters transfer 58.46% stake Sensex and has given Airways. Company announced the appointment to Ajay Singh of Neil Raymond Mills its CEO 120 a return of 130% 9-Jan-15: Plans to raise first tranche of Rs 1,200 14-Jun-10: Kalanithi Maran acquired 37.75% crore funds through US against a market stake in the Company, from Royal Holdings investors Services and WL Ross entities at a price of return of 523% since around Rs 47 per share 100 09-Dec-14: Spicejet has cancelled over 1,800 flights. It has reduced 2000. 25-May-10: the size of its fleet to 22-24 planes SpiceJet reported as a part of restructuring FY 10 results with Company's business 80 net profit of Rs 61.45 crores

against a loss of Rs 31-Oct-14-Company announced Share Price Share 352.6 crores the appointment of Sanjiv Kapoor as COO. Neil Raymond 60 Mills resigned as Company’s CEO

SpiceJet 523%

40 Indexed to to Indexed

20 130%

0 Jul/00 Jul/03 Jul/06 Jul/09 Jun/12 Jun/15 SpiceJet BSE Sensex Source : Ace Equity

SpiceJet—Hope is in the air? Page 6 of 16 5. Turbulent Times

 CBI filed  SpiceJet paid 85% of charges of salaries criminal  DGCA prevents misconduct  SpiceJet airline from selling  Recorded a against  Lessors reported tickets beyond 30 loss of Rs SpiceJet panic, force fifth days  The board of directors  Airline posted a 124 crore in promoter in airline to straight  SpiceJet of SpiceJet transferred record 5-fold rise quarter the Aircel – return quarterly management tells control of the airline to in loss to Rs.1,003 ended June Marxis deal planes loss DGCA it wants to Ajay Singh. Crore in FY 2014 suspend operations

Jun 2013 May 2014 Jul 2014 Aug 2014 Sep 2014 Oct 2014 Nov 2014 Dec 2014 Jan 2015 Mar 2015

 Airline decided  SpiceJet rose to  Airline closed  TPG Capital and  SpiceJet  Aviation minister  Reported Q4 2015 to defer #2 in market to signing a Indigo Partners delayed asks oil companies net profit of statutory dues, share deal with PE walkaaway salary of and airport Rs.22.51 crore in hoping to pay firm TPG owing to CBI employees operators to be Q4 of FY 15 from outside Capital and charges and staff, lenient on investor Indigo Partners  Outflow first time in SpiceJet’s to infuse funds increased 9 years payments related to  Airline suspends deferred tax, flights nearly for a mounting losses; day. Frontline staff airline diverts confront angry payments customers

SpiceJet—Hope is in the air? Page 7 of 16 6. Serious Fleet Issues

• In 2010, SpiceJet decided to place orders for Bombardier Q400 aircraft, when most airlines in the country had Airbuses or Boeings to have economies of scale. Fleet Type vs PAT

• The price of the 15 Bombardier Q400s was $450 million, No of Boeing 29 35 41 38 18 the first of which joined the fleet in 2011. No of • SpiceJet’s rationale to opt for the 70-seater Bombardier Bombardier 0 12 15 15 15 Q400’s was that it would widen its network in smaller 8000 towns and cities. 6,308

6000 5,616 • But the lack of support centres in India meant that 5,173

Bombardiers had to be flown to the Netherlands for 3,961 4000 maintenance checks. 2,880

• Thus, SpiceJet’s maintenance costs ballooned to over 50 % 2000 INR(Crores) . It started impacting its bottom line. 103 0 • Also total debt soared from Rs. 55 crore in fiscal 2011 to -191 -605 -687 Rs. 855 crore in fiscal 2012, when the Bombardier was -2000 -1,003 inducted. This doubled to Rs. 1,678 crore in fiscal 2013. Mar/11 Mar/12 Mar/13 Mar/14 Mar/15

Revenue PAT • To add fuel to SpiceJet’s problems the price of aviation turbine fuel went up by almost a half.

Source : SpiceJet

SpiceJet—Hope is in the air? Page 8 of 16 7. Deep Discounts Backfired

“Nobody wants to • No airline wants its flights to fly lose out. But when vacant. It's important to note most everybody starts Booking ahead would never offer all its seats on of time sale. discounting tickets, everybody loses. It's a race to the bottom” – Sanjiv Kapoor,COO, SpiceJet Retaining Cash flow market share management

• Airlines are fighting tooth and nail • It's all about having the money in to grab passengers. So while one hand. A rupee today is worth more airline offers a sale, the other than a rupee tomorrow. However, doesn't want to be left behind. on the flipside, repeated sales build an unstable ecosystem.

SpiceJet—Hope is in the air? Page 9 of 16 8. SpiceJet Deal

• On 15th January 2015, the board of directors of SpiceJet transferred control of the airline to Ajay Singh. “It's a welcome development. Failure of an • Kalanidhi Maran transfered SpiceJet stake to Ajay Singh via airline with 17% market share is the last thing ‘Scheme of Reconstruction and Revival for the takeover of our beleaguered aviation sector needs. ownership, management and control of SpiceJet Limited’. SpiceJet's revival is good for passengers, employees, lenders, suppliers and the industry • Three issues of public importance were unknown– as a whole,”

 Scheme Details were not disclosed, -Amber Dubey, Partner and India  Acquisition price not disclosed and head of aerospace and defence, KPMG  Open Offer was exempted

• According to RBSA analysis -

In crores “The government of India wanted to see the No. of shares (58.45%) 35.04 airline survive. The failure of an airline is fairly Share price as of 15th Jan 2015 18.65 visible to the world. When an airline dies, the Equity Value 654 whole world gets to know and that is very bad publicity for the economy of any country,” th (+) Debt as of 30 Sep 2014 2,611 -Ajay Singh, Chairman, SpiceJet (-) Cash as of 30th Sep 2014 9 Enterprise Value 3,255

SpiceJet—Hope is in the air? Page 10 of 16 9. Restructuring Plans

• Brought down the outlier costs. • Shut down some airports and curtailed the network to get back to low-cost model which is fewer stations and higher frequency to these stations. Time Performance • In process of renegotiating debt-restructuring plans, have amended the contracts.

• Cleared all the statutory debts, bad debt, employee salaries and payments of oil companies. • Cleared debts of Lessors and are in the process of paying large creditors. Debt • Cash flow has become much stronger than anticipated. Clearance

• To hire about 100 pilots, 50 commanders and 200-odd cabin crew and flight engineers. • Plans to add six to seven new aircrafts by FY 16. Fleet • Has trimmed expensive top management that were drawing salary of Rs 2 crore per annum. and Staff • To give opportunity of joining the Company to those who had either quit or had been laid off.

“They are back in Business. Competition is always good”-Phee Teik Yeoh, CEO, Vistara

SpiceJet—Hope is in the air? Page 11 of 16 10. SpiceJet’s Q4 2015 Performance Update

Change of Q4'2015 over Q4'2014 performance 50% • SpiceJet’s performance in Q4 FY’15 was promising. 25% 13% • The board of directors transferred control of the airline to Ajay Singh. 0%

-8% -9% • Active fleet size was reduced 50% y-o-y to 17 Boeing 737s -25% and 13 Q400s. -37% -50% -43% • After seven quarters of losses, SpiceJet reported a net -52% profit of Rs.22.51 crore in Q4 of FY 15 helped by a Rs -75% 650-crore funding by a new promoter, renegotiated -100% contracts with its vendors and provisioning for re-delivery Average Flights per passengers Cargo per Load Factor Flight Capacity expenses. day carried flight Length Q4'2015 -43% -37% 13% -8% -9% -52% • It also includes an extraordinary item, Rs.61 crore insurance claim received for the Q400 that was written off after an “SpiceJet has now come out the other side of the accident at Hubli, Karnataka. darkness a more agile, stronger and more adept • Airline had reported a net loss of Rs.321.5 crore in Q4 of airline as a result of the change…If SpiceJet FY14. continues to gnaw away at costs, especially in a low fuel price environment, then it has the • Despite profit, the airline's EBIT dropped to 50% y-o-y to Rs 786.32 crore in the reporting quarter compared with Rs prospects of financial strength to position it for 1,573.75 crore a year earlier growth”—Saj Ahmad, chief analyst at StrategicAero Research

SpiceJet —Hope is in the air? Page 12 of 16 11. Cost Breakdown Analysis of Q4 2015

Change in Income and Costs per ASK, Q4'15 v/s Q4'14 80% 63% 60% 48% 40% 18% 17% 20% 3% 3% 0%

-20% -5% -18% -40% -31% -60% Aircraft Lease Income Aircraft Fuel Airport Charges Aircraft Mntc Other Op Costs Empl Benefits Dep Exp Other Exp Rentals Q4'15 3% -31% -18% 18% 3% 17% 63% 48% -5%

Income • Revenue increased 3% y-o-y to Rs 4.15/seat-km. • Implies that the increase in load factors had a positive impact on unit revenues. Costs • D&A costs increased 48% y-o-y o INR 0.16/seat-km mainly due to owned Q400s. • Airport charges increased 18% y-o-y due to reduced flight lengths. • Aircraft maintenance costs went up by 3%. • Other operating costs increased by 17% y-o-y to Rs 0.16/seat-km. • Other expenses, which includes administrative expenses decreased by 5%. • Lease rentals per unit decreased by 18% y-o-y, owing to higher utilization of aircraft which diluted this fixed cost. • Aircraft fuel costs went down 31% to Rs 1.52/seat-km largely due to the fall of ATF prices. • Employee costs per ASK shot up 63% to Rs 0.57/seat-km as staff salaries were revised upward. ASK Available Seat Kilometers (ASK) captures the total flight passenger capacity of an airline in kilometers.

SpiceJet—Hope is in the air? Page 13 of 16 12. New Avatar

1. New Slogan and Brand : Unveiling of a new brand look and a new slogan 'SpiceJet is different. It is Red. Hot. Spicy‘ to mark the airline’s 10th anniversary. 2. SpiceJet Mobile App : The airline also launched a new mobile application and expects to see a meaningful jump in bookings through it. 3. Bag Out First : A service that ensures your baggage will be the “on Priority”. At a nominal cost of Rs 100/- per bag, you may choose to enjoy this benefit. 4. Priority Check-In : A service that provides you a hassle free and comfortable check-in experience at the airport on payment of INR 200 only. 5. Spice Assurance : A promise that flights will fly to a destination on time. This guarantee entitles you to a voucher worth Rs 500 if your flight is delayed between 60 – 119 minutes and a Rs 1000 voucher for a delay beyond 120 minutes. 6. SpiceMax : Enjoy significantly extra legroom on-board, complimentary meal and beverage, priority baggage handling and priority check-in at dedicated SpiceMAX counters at the airport for a modest add-on fee starting at Rs.500 to Rs.1000 depending on aircraft and flight length. 7. Colorful Weekends with SpiceJet : Inspired by the concept of "Casual Fridays" in corporate offices, the airline have designed crew’s colorful weekend attire for more cheer in the air. 8. IRCTC partners with SpiceJet : Railways have entered into a tie-up with SpiceJet. It enables a train traveller whose ticket is wait-listed to cancel the train ticket and instead get on to a flight by paying some incremental fee.

SpiceJet—Hope is in the air? Page 14 of 16 Disclaimer

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SpiceJet—Hope is in the air? Page 15 of 16 Contact Us

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