Merpati expects to earn Rp 900b in income this year
Merpati expects to earn Rp 900b in income this year
JAKARTA (JP): State-owned airline Merpati Nusantara
is expecting robust growth in operational income this year on the
back of a sharp increase in the airline's load factor, a company
executive said here on Thursday.
Merpati president Wahyu Hidayat said operational income was
expected to reach Rp 900 billion (about US$105.88 million) this
year, far higher than last year's Rp 400 billion.
He declined to disclose the airline's estimated profit for the
year, but said the airline had booked Rp 10 billion in "surplus"
as of this month.
The airline's load factor, which plunged to as low as 40
percent last year, has increased significantly this year, he
said, adding that the average monthly load factor was 71 percent
over the past six months.
"The high load factor is partly the result of the rise in
demand for our regular and chartered services linking Jakarta to
Kupang and Kupang to Darwin in Northern Australia," he said,
adding that the number of passengers from Kupang to Darwin has
increased in recent months due to the escalating tension in East
Timor.
"Merpati's financial condition is much better this year," he
said after the launch of Merpati Nusantara Archipelago Holidays
tourism handbook.
He said the airline was upbeat it would soon be able to emerge
from the financial hardships it had experienced over the last few
years, given its improving financial condition and the progress
in restructuring its debts.
Wahyu said Merpati began restructuring its Rp 1.7 trillion in
unhedged debts in March and had so far rescheduled about Rp 700
billion of that amount.
He said the restructuring would continue without difficulty
due to the positive response it had received from Merpati's over
90 overseas and local creditors, most of whom were vendors,
leasing companies, repair centers and maintenance support
providers.
"We'll move on with the rest of the program by ourselves.
We're not going to ask the government to pay for our offshore
debts like Garuda has," he said, calling such a move immature.
Merpati has suffered financial problems for several years with
declining income and increasing expenses, forcing it to reduce
flights and fleet capacity to cut operational costs.
The reduction of its fleet capacity cut the airline's load
factor to below 40 percent.
The airline served 344 routes with up to 90 aircraft before
the economic crisis struck in the middle of 1997. It now serves
around 269 routes, including three overseas flights, with 30
aircraft. (cst)