SpiceJet Shares Crash 9% After COO, CCO Step Down Amid ‘Restructuring’

Shares of budget airline SpiceJet fell 9.8 per cent to Rs 54.60 per share on the BSE in Tuesday’s intraday trade amid a report that two senior executives have tendered resignations.

This comes after reports suggested that the Chief Operating Officer (COO) Arun Kashyap and Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) Shilpa Bhatia have tendered their resignation.

Commenting on this development, the management said that this was a part of SpiceJet’s strategic restructuring and the company continues to see significant growth in revenue and load factor.

“With the recent fund raise, SpiceJet has speeded up the process of resolution of all past disputes. The Company looks forward to adding capacity, growing rapidly and continuing to play a large role in the Indian aviation sector,” they added.

The airline operator’s stock has declined 13 per cent in one month, as against a 3 per cent rise in the benchmark Sensex. Earlier, SpiceJet shares had hit a 52-week high of Rs 77 apiece on February 5, 2024.

SpiceJet, recently, resolved its disputes with Echelon Ireland Madison One Ltd, Cross Ocean Partners, and Celestial Aviation.

“This settlement not only underscores our commitment to financial prudence but also enables us to further fortify our fleet with the acquisition of two airframes,” Ajay Singh, chairman and managing director of SpiceJet said.

Besides, the airline’s resolution of a claim worth a $29.9 million (Rs 250 crore) with Celestial Aviation on February 28, resulted in savings of Rs 235 crore. Additionally, its dispute with Cross Ocean Partners (worth approximately $11.2 million or Rs 93 crore) led to acquiring an airframe and engine at no additional cost. This also ceased prolonged, expensive litigation that the airlines was undergoing.