Garuda Loses US$233.9 million in H1
23 July 2014 17:24 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – State airliner PT Garuda Indonesia (Persero) Tbk noted a loss of US$233.9 million in the first half of 2014. In the first quarter of this year, the company posted an operations loss of US$192.6 million.
Garuda president director Emirsyah Satar said the loss was due to 15-percent hike in operating costs, which reached US$1.96 billion in the semester—triggered by an increase in flight expenses due to soaring flight.
"The company’s flight expenses jumped 20 percent to US$1.19 billion, or accounting for 61 percent of our total operating expenses," Satar said in a written statement to the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX), yesterday.
The cost increase occurred in the midst of Garuda's stagnated revenue. In the first half of this year, the airline only managed to raise its revenues by 0.7 percent to US$1.73 billion.
Satar said Garuda's first quarter performance was depressed by rupiah correction. However, he remains optimistic that the airline's financial performance will improve in the third and fourth quarters, which are a high season for vacation travels.
FAIZ NASHRILLAH | DEWI SUCI RAHAYU | ANANDA PUTRI
