BENGALURU, Feb 24 (Reuters) – India’s SpiceJet Ltd (SPJT.NS) reported a 33% surge in third-quarter passenger income on Friday because the low-cost provider flew extra clients at larger fares amid a growth in journey demand, sending shares up 13% to a two-month excessive.

The outcomes come because the cash-strapped airline seems to be to boost capital with competitors heating up within the trade.

A rebound in passenger journey ensured power in income for airways like SpiceJet and rival IndiGo (INGL.NS).

For the quarter ended Dec. 31, SpiceJet’s passenger income surged 33% as yields, a proxy for airfares, jumped 21%.

That helped offset a pointy decline in income from its freight and logistics enterprise. Overall income was up 2.5% at 23.15 billion rupees.

“There are renewed signs of recovery and some very positive developments and restructuring initiatives in the immediate offing that would significantly strengthen and de-leverage our balance sheet,” Ajay Singh, chairman and managing director, stated in a press release.

Profit rose to 1.07 billion rupees ($12.93 million) for the three months ended Dec. 31 from 232.8 million rupees within the year-ago quarter, which was impacted by a one-off expense of 774.6 million rupees associated to a settlement with an plane producer.

The firm stated common aviation turbine gasoline value rose by 48% in the course of the quarter, whereas the Indian rupee depreciated 11% in opposition to the U.S. greenback.

The provider’s load issue, or the passenger carrying capability being utilised, improved to 91% from 85.2%.

Meanwhile, SpiceJet rescheduled its board assembly to think about capital elevating choices from Friday to Feb. 27.

The airline final yr suffered a string of mid-air security lapses that drove India’s aviation regulator to halve its permitted fleet in July 2022. The curb was eliminated on Oct. 30.

($1 = 82.7550 Indian rupees)

Reporting by Nallur Sethuraman and Chris Thomas in Bengaluru; Editing by Sohini Goswami

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