Kingfisher Airlines posts wider loss amid

Kingfisher Airlines, the Indian carrier controlled by billionaire Vijay Mallya, posted a wider third-quarter loss as fuel costs surged and the company cut flights amid a cash shortage. The net loss was Rs4.44 billion (Dh326.8 million) in the three months ended December 31, compared with Rs2.54 billion a year earlier, Bengaluru-based Kingfisher said in a statement on Wednesday. Operating revenue fell 19 per cent to Rs13.4 billion. Kingfisher joins Jet Airways and SpiceJet in extending losses as they fail to turn rising travel demand into profits because of fuel expenses and a price war. India may soon allow foreign airlines to buy stakes in local carriers as they struggle for financing to expand in a market where domestic traffic is forecast to surge fourfold by 2020. "Mallya's losing money hand over fist," said Arun Kejriwal, director at Kejriwal Research & Investment Services in Mumbai. "The situation is not going to improve quickly," as fuel prices remain high. Article continues below Stocks Kingfisher rose 0.6 per cent to Rs27 at the close of Mumbai trading. The benchmark BSE India Sensitive Index declined 0.3 per cent. The airline dropped 68 per cent last year. "Steep depreciation of the Indian rupee, coupled with consistently high crude oil prices has led a challenging quarter for the Indian aviation industry," Kingfisher said in the statement. The carrier's fuel expenses rose 37 per cent in the quarter from a year earlier. The rupee fell 7.7 per cent in the period, and touched a record low of 54.305 per dollar on December 15, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Jet Airways reported a fourth straight quarterly loss last month after jet-fuel costs rose 60 per cent, eroding gains from carrying more passengers. SpiceJet also attributed its third- quarter loss to higher fuel costs. Indian Oil cut the price of jet fuel in Mumbai to Rs63,499 a kilolitre starting yesterday from Rs63,864.31 a kilolitre as of Febrauary 1, according to the company's website. Kingfisher's market share slipped to fifth in December from second in October as it cut flights and scrapped low-cost services as part of a turnaround plan.