Board of SpiceJet will consider raising fresh capital on Wednesday (July 12) via issue of equity shares and/or convertible securities on a preferential basis. The airline in a regulatory filing on Sunday said, "The Board of Directors of the Company will be held on July 12, 2023 (Wednesday) to consider and approve, inter-alia, options for raising fresh capital through issue of equity shares and/or convertible securities on preferential basis, in accordance with the relevant provisions of applicable laws."
The capital raising is subject to the approval of the shareholders of the company and receipt of applicable regulatory approvals, it added. SpiceJet is under a severe financial cruch and has incurred substantial losses, mainly due to Covid-19.
In the first three quarters of FY23, SpiceJet’s consolidated net loss stood at Rs 1,507 crore. The fourth quarter results are yet to be announced. On June 30, SpiceJet announced that it has delayed the declaration of its financial results for the fiscal year 2022-2023 due to the ill health of a key member of its audit committee.
The airline posted a consolidated net loss of Rs 302 crore in FY19, followed by Rs 937 crore in FY20, Rs 1,030 crore in FY21, and Rs 1,744 crore in FY22.
In an another setback, the Supreme Court (SC) on Friday dismissed the applications filed by Spicejet seeking an extension to pay Rs 75 crore to Kal Airways and Kalanithi Maran, reported by PTI. While refusing to extend the time, the Delhi High Court had on June 1 directed SpiceJet to deposit "forthwith" Rs 75 crore that has to be paid to Maran and his Kal Airways towards interest on the arbitral award.
Earlier, the top court had ordered that the bank guarantee of Rs 270 crore furnished by SpiceJet to Maran and his firm must be encashed immediately if the airlines failed to pay Rs 75 crore towards interest on the arbitral award by May 13.