2024-09-09 05:23:29
New Delhi: As soon as it came to the Tata Group, Air India’s fortunes have started to turn. The company’s loss has been reduced to less than half. According to the FY24 annual report of Tata Sons, the loss of the airline business of the Tata Group has come down to Rs 6,337 crore from Rs 15,414 crore in the previous financial year. This includes Air India, Air India Express, Tata SIA Airlines (Vistara) and AIX Connect (AirAsia India). The group’s digital and electronics business grew 148% to Rs 1,612 crore while the net loss increased from Rs 1,723 crore to Rs 2,223 crore. Tata Sons is the holding company of the Tata Group. Tata Group bought Air India in 2022. The company returned home after nearly seven decades. Air India recorded its highest ever consolidated revenue of Rs 51,365 crore in the financial year 2024. This is 24% more than the previous year. The company’s available seat kilometer (ASKM) capacity increased to 105 billion and the passenger load factor also improved to 85%. InterGlobe Aviation, which operates the country’s largest airline IndiGo, reported a revenue of Rs 68,904 crore and a profit of Rs 8,167 crore in FY24. Tata Sons did not comment on this.
Focus on the airline
The head of a top domestic investment fund said that the Tata Group’s focus is on the airline sector. The challenges of aviation and e-commerce will be gradually overcome with effective strategies. These are not areas in which it is easy to work. But they play an important role in the nation building of the country and hence it is important for Tata to stay ahead in these. On a standalone basis, Air India reduced its losses to Rs 4,444 crore in FY24 from Rs 11,388 crore in FY23 while turnover grew 23% to Rs 38,812 crore. Tata SIA Airlines, which operates the Vistara brand, grew 29% to Rs 15,191 crore in FY24 and reduced its losses to Rs 581 crore from Rs 1,394 crore in the previous year.
Tata Sons’ annual report said that Tata Digital’s portfolio had 20.76 million transacting customers in FY24. This led to a total gross merchandise value of Rs 37,355 crore. Tata Sons’ net profit grew 57% to Rs 34,654 crore while revenue grew 25% to ₹43,893 crore. Tata Sons has also paid the highest ever dividend of Rs 35,000 per share to shareholders. Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran received a remuneration of Rs 135 crore in FY24, up nearly 20% from Rs 113 crore in FY23. According to the annual report, this included Rs 12.43 crore as salary and Rs 121.50 crore as commission.