SpiceJet shares tumble nearly 14 pc; hit 52-week low during the day

NEW DELHI: Shares of SpiceJet tumbled nearly 14 per cent on Tuesday, falling to its 52-week low level in intra-day trade, as investors continued to desert the counter.

The stock tanked 13.93 per cent to close at Rs 24.16 apiece on the BSE. During the day, it plummeted 19.30 per cent to its 52-week low of Rs 22.65.

In volume terms, 159.09 lakh shares of the company were traded at the BSE.

The stock has been falling since May 16 (Tuesday), declining nearly 20 per cent.

The airline, which completed 18 years of operations on Tuesday, is facing financial headwinds and has undertaken a ''restructuring exercise'' to further reduce the liabilities.

In the equity market, the BSE benchmark ended with a gain of 18.11 points or 0.03 per cent at 61,981.79.

On May 11, SpiceJet said it has no plans to file for insolvency proceedings and has also started the process of reviving its grounded fleet with USD 50 million.

The statement had come in the backdrop of a lessor filing an insolvency resolution plea against the airline and crisis-hit rival Go First being admitted for voluntary insolvency resolution proceedings by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT).

SpiceJet operated its first commercial flight on May 23, 2005 from Delhi to Ahmedabad.

In a message to the staff, SpiceJet Chairman and Managing Director Ajay Singh said that as part of the airline's overall growth strategy, ''a restructuring exercise is underway to further reduce the liability of the company as it will allow us to pursue our growth targets with focused efficiency''.