India’s SpiceJet seeks debt restructure, $68mn loan – report

SpiceJet (SG, Delhi Int’l) has approached India’s Yes Bank for loan restructuring under Reserve Bank of India (RBI) guidelines for companies struggling with the coronavirus pandemic, plus a INR5 billion rupee (USD68 million) working capital loan, unnamed sources told the Hindu Business Line newspaper. The low-cost carrier is understood to have approached the bank at the end of November, and a meeting with bank officials subsequently took place. A revival plan was submitted to the bank to strengthen its case. The carrier also met Hardeep Singh Puri, minister of civil aviation, to discuss the issue, a source alleged. The newspaper viewed an email dated December 2 in which the bank said it had held discussions on the “restructuring proposal and additional working capital requirement […] under the RBI Covid-19 one-time debt restructuring scheme.” “Yes Bank has responded to SpiceJet stating that its request is being evaluated and will be considered after due diligence of its financial position,” another source said without providing a timeline. SpiceJet denied to the newspaper that it was seeking loan restructuring or had submitted a request for a working capital loan. The sources claimed that the airline had taken the step due to weak second-quarter results ending September 30 and mounting pressure for debt repayments from multiple sources. The airline posted a loss for the quarter of just over INR1 billion (USD13.6 million) on a 57% drop in revenue. Its total current liabilities stand at INR7.98 billion (USD1.1 billion), according to its financial statements. One of SpiceJet’s most pressing debts is INR2.25 billion (USD21.3 million), including interest, owed to the Airports Authority of India (AAI), the Business Line reported on December 23, and the carrier has offered to pay at least INR1 billion of this amount to the authority before March 31, 2021. As previously reported, the authority recently declared SpiceJet a “cash-and-carry” airline, meaning it must pay cash upfront for all airport services.