PT Pos earns Rp 100b in 1999

JAKARTA (JP): State-owned postal company PT Pos Indonesia booked Rp 100 billion (US$14.2 million) in pretax profit in 1998, beating the targeted Rp 86 billion.

PT Pos president Alinafiah said over the weekend the company's total operating revenue rose by over 100 percent to Rp 1.06 trillion.

He said PT Pos, with over 27,000 employees in its nationwide operation, was seeking to form an alliance with an airline operator to improve its profitability.

"We have studied the costs and benefits of a possible business alliance with an airline in Malaysia. If it is implemented, PT Pos will have better facilities, especially for its nondocument forwarding service," he was quoted by Antara news agency as saying.

PT Pos currently cooperates with state-owned airline Merpati Nusantara for domestic deliveries, and national flag carrier Garuda Indonesia and several foreign airlines, including Japan Airlines, for overseas deliveries.

Nondocument handling currently makes up about 25 percent of PT Pos' annual revenue. Postal service contributes a dominating 60 percent to annual revenue. (cst)