State-owned construction firm Wijaya Karya (Wika) has seen a decline in new contract figures as of April this year, amid the unfolding pandemic.

The firm recorded Rp 2.82 trillion (US$201.4 million) in new contracts from January to April, a steep 73.1 percent drop year-on-year (yoy). The company secured Rp 10.5 trillion in new contracts in the same period last year, as reported by Kontan.co.id.

The company’s performance in the first part of the year will make it difficult to achieve its target to record Rp 65.5 trillion in new contracts this year, a 59.7 percent increase from 2019, according to a press statement issued by the company.

“With the new contracts, Wika has a total order book of Rp 80.68 trillion in 2020. This is a huge responsibility for our company, and we have to fulfill it with accurate strategies,” Wika corporate secretary Mahendra Vijaya said after a shareholders meeting in a press release on Monday.

The majority of the new contracts came from private companies, followed by government contracts and state-owned companies.

The total order book has also declined, compared to the Rp117.69 trillion the company recorded in the first quarter last year, according to the company’s website.

It also enjoyed Rp 26.42 trillion in profit last year, a 26.42 percent increase from 2018.

Meanwhile, Wika also stated it would distribute Rp 457 billion in dividends, equal to 20 percent of the company’s 2019 profit, to its shareholders. The value of the dividend of each share will be Rp 50.95, higher than last year’s share dividend of Rp 38.6 per share.

The company has also announced a leadership change, with the company’s operational director Agung Budi Waskito appointed as the new president director replacing Tumiyana.

The shareholders meeting also agreed to appoint Public Works and Housing Ministry (PUPR) Water Resource Director General Jarot Widyoko as the company’s president commissioner, replacing Imam Santoso.

Previously, considering the possibility of a prolonged COVID-19 pandemic and its impacts, the company signaled the possibility of proposing debt relaxation, as it has Rp 6.2 trillion in debts due this year.

“We may ask our lenders for debt relaxation because prolonged impacts could affect our operational revenue,” Mahendra previously told The Jakarta Post.

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