How the rupee grounded Indigo’s profits

Akshara· Host0:00

[upbeat music] In today's episode, we'll break down two important stories. First, we'll talk about IndiGo's Q4 marred by turbulence, and then we'll talk about what better access to Indian banking really does. Welcome back to the Daily Brief by Zerodha, where we cut through the noise to help you understand what's actually happening in the most important stories from business and markets. I'm your host Akshara, and today is Friday, 5th June. Coming to the first story. For years, IndiGo airlines would post rather predictable results. Aside from moments like the COVID rupture, its growth seemed mechanical. Quarter over quarter, the airline would add planes, more passengers would choose it, and more profits would flow through. And with a market share so large that it catered to two in every three Indian flyers, IndiGo's story was the story of Indian aviation as well. But recently, that story appears to have gone awry. In December, the airline's operation suffered a catastrophic failure, leaving hundreds of thousands of passengers stranded in airports across the country. And then in the March quarter, IndiGo reported a massive loss, bleeding just over rupees 2,500 crore in three months. This was a sharp reversal in fortunes. The same quarter one year ago, it had profits of rupees 3,000 crore. Now, there's a simple version of this story, that the company is in trouble. But that isn't what we think is happening. Very little of this loss, from what we can tell, has to do with flying planes. But it