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Garuda sees loss despite more passengers
Under water: Flag carrier PT Garuda Indonesiaâs service director Faik Fahmi (left), president director Emirsyah Satar (second left), finance director Handrito Hardjono and strategy, business development and risk management director Judi Rifanjantoro (right) chat before presenting first quarter results to the press on Tuesday
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Under water: Flag carrier PT Garuda Indonesiaâs service director Faik Fahmi (left), president director Emirsyah Satar (second left), finance director Handrito Hardjono and strategy, business development and risk management director Judi Rifanjantoro (right) chat before presenting first quarter results to the press on Tuesday. The company posted a net loss of US$33 million in the first three months of 2013, which it attributed to typically sluggish first-quarter sales and rainy season flooding in Jakarta. (JP/Nurhayati) (left), president director Emirsyah Satar (second left), finance director Handrito Hardjono and strategy, business development and risk management director Judi Rifanjantoro (right) chat before presenting first quarter results to the press on Tuesday. The company posted a net loss of US$33 million in the first three months of 2013, which it attributed to typically sluggish first-quarter sales and rainy season flooding in Jakarta. (JP/Nurhayati)
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span class="inline inline-none">Under water: Flag carrier PT Garuda Indonesia's service director Faik Fahmi (left), president director Emirsyah Satar (second left), finance director Handrito Hardjono and strategy, business development and risk management director Judi Rifanjantoro (right) chat before presenting first quarter results to the press on Tuesday. The company posted a net loss of US$33 million in the first three months of 2013, which it attributed to typically sluggish first-quarter sales and rainy season flooding in Jakarta. (JP/Nurhayati)
National flag carrier PT Garuda Indonesia is reporting faltering growth in the first quarter of the year, despite steady growth in passenger numbers.
Garuda booked US$33.7 million in net losses in the first quarter, greater than the $10.7 million in losses the airline reported in the same period last year.
'The first quarter is always the slowest season for Garuda,' Garuda president director Emirsyah Satar said on Tuesday. 'There was also unfriendly weather in January, including flooding, which led to a lower seat load factor.'
Emirsyah was referring to the severe floods that inundated broad swathes of the capital in January at the height of the rainy season.
The airline's seat load factor dropped to 63.7 percent in January, almost 14 percentage points lower than the 77.4 percent rate recorded in January 2012, which Emirsyah said resulted in an $18 million loss for Garuda.
Emirsyah said that Garuda's average seat load factor in the first three months of the year was 74.5 percent, or 1.7 percentage points higher than in the same period last year.
'We are optimistic about the next quarters. We saw a higher seat load factor in February and March this year compared to similar months last year,' Emirsyah added.
The airline's load seat factor stood at 79 percent in February 2013, higher than the 78 percent booked in the same month last year, and was 79.2 percent in March 2013, higher than the 77.8 percent booked in March 2012.
Garuda, 69.14 percent owned by the government, recorded 5.4 million passengers during the January-to-March period, up 20.7 percent from 4.56 million in the same period last year.
Emirsyah said that the company would maintain its target for 20 percent growth in passenger numbers for 2013, hoping to record 24.5 million passengers by the year end.
More passengers flew with Garuda during the January-to-March period, pushing the airline's revenues to $807.2 million, which was up 12.5 percent over the $717.45 million recorded in the first quarter of last year.
On flight number, Garuda said that it recorded 44,224 domestic and international flights in the first quarter, up 23.5 percent compared to 35,817 flights in the same period last year.
Higher flight frequency pushed the airline's operating expenses up 12.7 percent, which was primarily attributed to a 16.6 percent in fuel spending.
Shares in Garuda (GIAA) closed unchanged at Rp 630 apiece on Tuesday.
