IndiGo Q3FY26 profit falls 78% on labour, disruptions

What IndiGo reported in Q3FY26

InterGlobe Aviation, which operates IndiGo, reported a sharp fall in consolidated profit for the October to December 2025 quarter (Q3FY26). Net profit declined 77.6% year-on-year to ₹549.8 crore, compared with ₹2,448.8 crore a year earlier. The company linked the decline primarily to the impact of new Labour Codes and costs related to thousands of flight cancellations in December 2025, as disclosed in a filing. It also pointed to operational disruptions and currency fluctuations as key drivers behind the weaker reported number. Despite these headwinds, the quarter saw revenue growth, indicating that demand and capacity deployment supported the topline. The company described the reported profit as being weighed down by exceptional items rather than a broad collapse in core operations.

Headline numbers: profit drop, revenue rise

IndiGo’s reported profit for the December quarter came in at around ₹550 crore, versus ₹2,449 crore in the comparable period last year. The company also indicated a topline of around ₹24,500 crore for the quarter, reflecting growth of around 7%. Another report referenced revenue rising 6% year-on-year, broadly consistent with the revenue growth message for the period. While profit declined sharply, the topline performance suggests a disconnect between operating demand and the accounting impact of one-off costs and currency movement. The company’s financials also included details that separate reported profit from “underlying” performance after removing exceptional and forex impacts.

What drove the profit decline

IndiGo attributed the sharp year-on-year decline in reported net profit largely to exceptional items. These included the impact from implementation of new labour laws, operational disruptions, and currency movement related to dollar-based future obligations. The December 2025 period saw large-scale flight cancellations, which added costs and operational strain. The company’s disclosure framed these factors as a key reason why reported profitability diverged from underlying profitability for the quarter. Currency fluctuations and future obligations in dollars added to volatility in the reported outcome. Together, these items created a significantly lower reported profit despite a higher revenue base.

Exceptional items and the “underlying” profit bridge

IndiGo reported that after excluding exceptional items linked to the Labour Codes (₹969 crore) and operational disruptions (₹577 crore), and excluding currency movement pertaining to dollar-based future obligations (₹1,035 crore), Q3FY26 net profit would have been ₹3,131 crore. These three heads sum to ₹3,581 crore of impacts, which helps explain the gap between the reported ₹550 crore and the adjusted profit figure. The total exceptional expense for the October to December period was also reported at ₹1,546 crore, matching the Labour Codes and disruption costs combined. On a comparable basis, profit after excluding these impacts was stated at ₹3,846 crore in Q3FY25, indicating that the underlying profit base was higher a year earlier. The company’s narrative, therefore, highlights that one-off costs and forex movement dominated the reported year-on-year movement in profit.

Operating profitability: EBITDA and EBITDAR snapshot

IndiGo’s operating profit metrics were mixed but relatively stable compared with the size of the reported profit fall. EBITDAR stood at ₹6,008 crore, down 0.8% from ₹6,059 crore in Q3FY25. EBITDA (operating profit) advanced 4% to ₹5,367 crore, although the EBITDA margin contracted by 60 basis points to 22.9%. These figures suggest that core operating performance held up more than the reported net profit, even as the company faced disruptions. The divergence between stable operating profitability and weaker net profit underscores the influence of exceptional items and currency-linked obligations on the bottom line.

How Q2FY26 set the context

The Q3FY26 result also followed a weak Q2FY26 on a reported basis, when InterGlobe Aviation posted a loss of ₹2,582 crore. For Q2FY26, total income was ₹19,599.5 crore, up 10.4% year-on-year. Adjusted EBITDA (excluding forex and hedging) was ₹3,800.3 crore with a 20% margin, compared with ₹2,700 crore (16% margin) in Q2FY25. However, profit after tax was a loss of ₹2,582.1 crore, widening from a loss of ₹986.7 crore in Q2FY25, mainly due to rupee depreciation and dollar obligations. The contrast between improving operating metrics and weak reported PAT in Q2FY26 mirrors the themes seen again in Q3FY26.

Operational metrics disclosed for Q2FY26

The company’s earlier quarterly disclosure (Q2FY26) included operational indicators that help frame demand and capacity conditions heading into the December quarter. Capacity increased 7.8% to 41.2 billion, while passengers rose 3.6% to 28.8 million. Yield increased 3.2% to ₹4.69 and load factor was flat at 82.5%. Revenue from operations rose 9.3% to ₹18,555.3 crore. Fuel CASK fell 16.3% to ₹1.45, while CASK ex-fuel ex-fx increased 3.9% to ₹3.01. These metrics suggest that demand and network performance remained supportive, even as currency-linked impacts influenced reported profitability.

Stock snapshot and analyst expectations cited

The provided data also included a market snapshot for IndiGo shares, with the share price at ₹5,803 and a 52-week range of ₹3,780 to ₹6,018. The day’s range was listed as high ₹5,857 and low ₹5,760.5, with the previous close at ₹5,844 and open at ₹5,815. Analysts’ price target was cited at ₹6,251.12 per share, with a maximum estimate of ₹7,256 and a minimum estimate of ₹3,030. EPS for the last quarter was cited at 56.35 INR against an estimate of 59.66 INR. The next quarter EPS was expected at -29.95 INR, and next quarter revenue expectation was cited at ₹18,604 crore.

Key dates investors are tracking

The data referenced an upcoming earnings date for InterGlobe Aviation as January 22, 2026. It also listed May 26, 2026 as a projected Q4 2026 earnings release date. Such calendar markers matter because IndiGo’s recent results have shown large differences between reported profit and profit excluding exceptional items and forex effects. Investors typically watch whether disruption-related costs persist, how labour-related costs settle after policy implementation, and whether currency-linked obligations continue to create significant volatility.

Summary table: key figures mentioned

Why the result matters

IndiGo’s Q3FY26 numbers show how one-off costs and currency-linked movements can dominate the headline profit outcome for an airline, even when revenue grows and operating profit remains comparatively steady. The company has explicitly separated the effect of Labour Codes, operational disruptions, and dollar-related obligations to explain the reported decline. With aviation demand still reflected in a higher topline, the market focus shifts to how frequently such disruptions occur and how quickly labour-related costs normalise after implementation. The contrasting pattern between operating profit and reported PAT across Q2FY26 and Q3FY26 also highlights why investors track multiple profit measures for airlines, including adjusted figures.

Closing takeaways

InterGlobe Aviation reported a 77.6% year-on-year fall in Q3FY26 net profit to ₹549.8 crore, citing Labour Code impacts, December 2025 disruptions, and currency movement as the main drivers. Revenue was described as around ₹24,500 crore for the quarter, indicating growth despite the profit drop. The company’s disclosures also pointed to a substantially higher profit of ₹3,131 crore after excluding exceptional items and forex impacts. Investors will next watch the company’s scheduled results calendar, including the January 22, 2026 earnings date and the projected May 26, 2026 release date, for updates on cost normalisation and disruption-related impacts.