pelni's profit expected to decline this year
pelni's profit expected to decline this year
JAKARTA (JP): The state-owned shipping company PT Pelayaran Indonesia (Pelni) expects its profit level to decline this year due to the absence of a tariff increase and the operating losses suffered by some of its passenger vessels.
The company's president, Roesman Anwar, said here yesterday that last year Pelni made Rp 18.52 billion (US$7.2 million) in profit, 16 percent short of its target of Rp 21 billion.
"When setting the target for 1995, we assumed that the government would increase shipping fares by between 10 percent and 20 percent. But there was no fare increase last year and we failed to reach the target," he said at the company's three-day workshop which was opened by Minister of Transportation Haryanto Dhanutirto yesterday.
"This year, Pelni's profit is expected to reach only Rp 16.7 billion assuming that the government does not raise the fares," Roesman said, adding that Pelni's profit was Rp 12 billion in 1994.
He acknowledged that in 1995, between 60 percent and 70 percent of the company's came from Pelni's side businesses.
Besides operating ships, Pelni also runs a public hospital on Jl. K.S. Tubun in Central Jakarta and leases a hall at its headquarters on Jl. Gajah Mada in Central Jakarta.
Roesman said that the other profit source was interest on its deposits.
Meanwhile, Minister Haryanto said that of the 17 passenger ships operated by Pelni in 1995, seven ships had suffered losses.
"This year, Pelni will operate 18 passenger ships, eight of which will suffer losses," the minister said.
Pelni currently operates 20 cargo ships and 32 passenger vessels, including 15 which have to serve "pioneer" routes, or the routes with the smallest number of commuters.
Pelni, which links 75 seaports in most of the country's 27 provinces, transported some 5.2 million passengers last year.
Challenge
Roesman said yesterday that the company's operating costs increased in the last few years and that most of the cargo vessels and "pioneer" passenger ships were aging.
"Last year we suffered a loss of Rp 981 million from operating the old cargo ships and another Rp 3 billion from the pioneer ships," he said. "Another obstacle in operating aging vessels is the difficulty of getting spare parts for maintenance."
Pelni scrapped five of the ships in 1995, he said.
A source at the company, meanwhile, said yesterday that Pelni will soon face a confusing challenge from PT ASDP, the state- owned ferrying company which is also overseen by the Ministry of Transportation.
The government has just presented ASDP with nine express ships which will be operated on some routes currently served by Pelni, the source said.
"ASDP will likely serve the Jakarta-Surabaya (East Java) and possibly the Surabaya-Ujungpandang (South Sulawesi) and even Ujungpandang-Balikpapan (East Kalimantan) routes, which are now served by Pelni," said the source who asked to remain anonymous.
The government said recently that ASDP will use the nine express ships for ferrying services between Merak in West Java and Bakahuni in Lampung, between Surabaya in East Java and nearby Madura as well as between Banyuwangi in East Java and Gilimanuk in Bali. (icn)