News
Garuda books US$214 million full-year loss
March 2nd 2018
State-controlled Garuda Indonesia, a SkyTeam member, returned to the red in 2017. Read More » The flag carrier this week reported a net loss of US$214 million for the full-year ended December 31, reversing a meagre US$9 million net profit posted the previous year.
Garuda largely blamed higher jet fuel costs for the loss, saying its 2017 fuel bill was 25% higher compared to 2016. It also incurred several one-off costs during the year relating to fleet changes. Excluding extraordinary items, the carrier’s full-year loss was US$67.6 million. Its revenues improved 8.1%, but expenses were up 13% to US$4.25 billion. Garuda’s low-cost unit, Citilink, added to the predicament with a US$53.3 million full-year loss.
Garuda’s load factor inched up 0.8% to 74.7% in 2017. The Jakarta-based carrier’s capacity rose 5.6% during the year, comprising 7.4% international and 1.5% domestic growth; its yield dropped 3.2%.
The airline’s fleet now comprises 141 aircraft: 24 A330s, ten B777-300ERs, 73 B737-800s, a single B737 MAX 8, 18 CRJ1000s and 15 ATR72s.
In 2017, Garuda renegotiated twelve contracts with lessors and manufacturers; it aims at reworking six other agreements this year.
The carrier’s aircraft utilization is improving. In 2017, its fleet spent an average 9:36hrs flying, up from 8:58hrs the previous year. This year, Garuda president and CEO, Pahala Mansury, is targeting an average daily fleet utilization of 10:24hrs.
The airline still has not provided an update on the LOIs for 30 A350s and 30 B787s it has signed with Airbus and Boeing, respectively.
