SpiceJet Ltd announced on Thursday that it has reached an in-principle agreement with Credit Suisse to settle a dispute, with the airline paying the settlement amount over time.
“SpiceJet had already deposited $5 million on the Hon’ble Madras High Court’s direction in the Credit Suisse case, and there is no adverse financial liability on the Company,” the airline said in a statement.
“The settlement entails the payment of the settlement amount over a mutually agreed-upon time period.” Credit Suisse took SpiceJet to the Madras High Court last year after the airline failed to make payments totalling more than $24 million to Swiss maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) service provider SR Technics. Credit Suisse was tasked with collecting the outstanding debts on behalf of the company.
Following a petition from Credit Suisse, the Madras high court ordered the liquidation of Spicejet in December. The Supreme Court, on the other hand, had stayed the order in January, giving the airline the three weeks it had requested to settle its dispute with Credit Suisse AG.
SpiceJet has largely been a loss-making airline over the last two years, reporting seven consecutive quarters of losses until September 30, 2021. The airline revealed a consolidated net profit of 42.45 crore for the three months ended 31 December, owing primarily to compensation it received for the grounding of Boeing 737Max planes.
Mounting losses have resulted in complete erosion of SpiceJet’s net worth, with its liabilities exceeding its assets by ₹6,347.10 crores as of the end of December, the auditors of the airline, Walker Chandiok &.Co LLP had said in a statement accompanying the results.
SpiceJet, which had faced a slew of lawsuits, primarily for failing to settle pending dues during the pandemic, announced settlements with De Havilland Aircraft of Canada Limited (DHC), aircraft lessors CDB Aviation, and Avolon.