Indonesian Ferry Operator Pelni Sets Sights on 10% Increase in Revenue

ID/Inneke Lady

State-owned ferry operator Pelayaran Indonesia is targeting its revenue to increase by 10 percent this year on rising demand by the country’s consumers.

The company has targeted its revenue to reach Rp 2.5 trillion ($265 million) by the end of the year.

Wibisono, finance director at Pelayaran Indonesia (Pelni), said on Wednesday that revenue during the upcoming Idul Fitri season was expected to contribute around 25 percent of the full-year figure.

In the first half of this year, the company posted revenue of Rp 1.2 trillion.

“Passenger services contributed 80 percent of Pelni’s revenue, while the remainder was from mining, shipping and boat rentals,” Wibisono said.

He said they were expected a 5 percent increase in passengers during this year’s Idul Fitri. “With this, we are targeting a 100 percent load factor during the season, significantly higher than normal rate of 50 percent,” he said.

Millions of Muslims, especially those living in large cities, will travel to their hometowns for Idul Fitri, which marks the end of the fasting month. The holiday is expected to begin on Aug. 19 this year. This tradition is called mudik and usually results in traffic jams and overcrowded airports, seaports and bus terminals.

Pelni’s president director, Jussabella Sahea, said the company would operate 25 ferries with a combined capacity of 45,000 passengers during mudik.

“That is to anticipate an increase in passengers,” he said.

Pelni is also aiming to generate more revenue by increasing its transportation of goods. Currently, 25 percent of Pelni’s ships are used for transporting goods. That means modifying some ships.

Pelni is also looking to get more benefit from the Cabotage Law that was enacted in 2005. It stipulates that only Indonesian-flagged vessels can operate in the country’s waters, expect for the purposes of oil and gas.

“From 2010 to 2013, we will be looking to modify three ships with a cost of up to Rp 100 billion per ship,” Jussabella said.

He said the modification program was specially targeting Pelni’s aging ships, especially those older than 30 years.