Welcome Guest   |  Login   |   Signup
JG Logo
Fri, February 10, 2012
Archive Search

Garuda Indonesia Targets 15% Profit Growth
Yessar Rosendar | March 17, 2010

A Garuda Indonesia plane lands at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport. (Bloomberg Photo) A Garuda Indonesia plane lands at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport. (Bloomberg Photo)
Share This Page
1
0
0
0
Share with google+ :


Post a comment
Please login to post comment

Comments

Be the first to write your opinion!

Flag carrier PT Garuda Indonesia aims to increase revenue and net profit by 15 percent this year, as the global economic recovery lifts passenger numbers.

Emirsyah Satar, the president director of Garuda, told reporters on Wednesday that the state-owned airline expected passenger numbers to increase by “more than 20 percent” this year on the back of the brighter economic outlook.

Last year, Garuda flew 10.3 million passengers, an increase of just 3 percent over the previous year.

Eric Alexander Sugandi, an economist at Standard Chartered Bank, said the economic recovery should boost the aviation industry, with the rising price of oil pushing ticket prices higher.

In 2009, Garuda posted a net profit of Rp 1.01 trillion ($111 million), an increase of 50 percent from 2008, largely due to the strengthening rupiah, which reduced the airline’s operating costs. However, revenue fell 7 percent to Rp 16.7 trillion as the carrier cut ticket prices in line with lower fuel prices.

Garuda has expanded its fleet to accommodate an expected increase in passengers.

The carrier has leased an additional 24 planes, consisting of 23 Boeing 737-800s and one Airbus 330-200s, taking its total fleet to 75 planes.

The company has said it plans to increase its fleet to 116 planes by 2014.

It also plans to expand its coverage, flying to 12 new destinations this year, including Ambon, Bengkulu, Palu and Amsterdam via Dubai.

“To support the expansion plan we have allocated Rp 1 trillion in capital expenditure, of which all will be financed through internal funds,” said Eddy Porwanto, Garuda’s finance director.

The carrier also aims to raise $300 million from an initial public offering in the third quarter, and will choose underwriters in June, Emirsyah said.

Garuda restructured most of its debt in advance of the IPO, except $241.2 million owed to the European Credit Agency.

“We expect to finish arranging the restructuring for the ECA debt next month,” Eddy said.