Jet Airways, the nation’s biggest airline by market value, posted its first profit in

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three quarters after a decline in costs masked a drop in sales. The airline had a net income of Rs 106 crore ($23 million) in the three months ended in December, compared with a loss of Rs 214 crore a year earlier, the company said in a statement to the Bombay stock exchange on Monday.

Sales declined 6.5 percent to Rs 2,720 crore. Jet Airways spending on fuel, the company’s biggest expense, declined 19 per cent in the quarter, the company said.

Chairman Naresh Goyal is planning to raise $400 million to pay for new planes and take on discount carriers that are expanding in India as more people shun trains for planes. Spending on jet fuel fell to Rs 888 crore from Rs 1,094 crore in the quarter, according to the statement. Employee remuneration declined 21 per cent to Rs 289 crore, it said. The company had other operating income of Rs 163 crore in the quarter, including income from leasing out aircraft, it said.

Meanwhile, the board of directors of Jet Airways has given its in principle approval to acquire 26 per cent stake in MAS GMR Aerospace Engineering Company for an unspecified amount.

The Hyderabad-based MAS GMR Aerospace is a joint venture between Malaysian Airlines' engineering arm and the GMR group engaged in setting up a Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility.

The 26 per cent stake in MAS GMR will be acquired partly in cash and partly for consideration other than cash, Jet Airways said in a communication to the Bombay Stock Exchange on Monday. The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals, the company said.