The fledgling Cochin International Aviation Services Limited (CIASL), a subsidiary of Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL), has started making operating profit.
The profit before interest, depreciation and tax of the company was Rs 81.58 lakh in the last fiscal as against a loss of Rs 42.72 lakh for the previous year.
This positive news comes out even as the company is trying to position itself as a major player of maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) on the global scene.
The loss before depreciation during the last fiscal was Rs 11.6 lakh while in the previous fiscal it was Rs 42 lakh.
The total income in 2011-12 was Rs 5.89 crore against Rs 3 crore in 2010-11. The total expenditure on employees, administration and other expenses and interest and finance charges in 2011-12 went up to Rs 6 crore from Rs 3.43 crore in 2010-11.
The depreciation was Rs 1.61 crore during 2011-12 on the back of higher investments in fixed assets while it stood at Rs 66 lakh in the previous financial year.
Due to the depreciation factor the net loss shot up to Rs 2.5 crore against Rs 1.19 crore in 2010-11. The figures were presented at a board meeting held recently by CIASL managing director V.J. Kurien.
CIASL, which has not started earning income in foreign exchange, had to spend Rs 8.03 lakh in foreign exchange towards the import of tools, spares and equipment and other heads in the last fiscal.
CIASL, which had obtai-ned approval from the DGCA for undertaking line maintenance services up to A Check on Airbus A320 aircraft fitted with V2500 engines, is now approved by the regulatory agencies of UAE, Sri Lanka, Qatar and Singa-pore.
It is now on the verge of being approved by the European Aviation Safety Agency for maintenance.