Sempati Air records higher sales last year

JAKARTA (JP): Private air carrier Sempati Air booked Rp 753 billion (US$313.75 million) in sales last year, up 15 percent from 1995.

Sempati's new president Santun Nainggolan said Sempati sold 3.3 million tickets last year and hoped to sell 3.6 million tickets this year.

He said the company's report was being audited so refused to give details of Sempati's financial structure.

Late last year Indonesia's only rating agency Pefindo said it was reviewing the airline's rating because of worsening liquidity.

Nainggolan said Sempati, which delayed its plan to list on the Jakarta Stock Exchange last year for unknown reasons, was restructuring all business units to improve performance.

"For instance, we are improving our services, both at airports and on flights because we understand that this is a service oriented business," he said.

He said Sempati had also launched an internal consolidation measure.

"We plan to set up an Information Technology center to boost Sempati's reservation, ticket distribution and data processing systems," he said.

He said Sempati's 0-800-21-612 toll free telephone service between 6pm and 6am was part of its efforts to improve service.

Sempati was set up in 1968 and began scheduled commercial flights in 1990. The company's current shareholders include the Humpuss Group of Hutomo Mandala Putra, President Soeharto's youngest son, armed forces holding company PT Tri Usaha Bhakti, Malaysian-Indonesian joint venture Asean Aviation Inc. and timber tycoon Mohammad (Bob) Hasan, one of the President's closest friends.

The 43-year-old Nainggolan was appointed president last December to replace Hasan M. Soedjono. Hasan had said Sempati was strengthening its internal auditing system as one of its internal consolidation actions.

"Please don't see that we are going to look for someone's weakness, this is just a matter of better systems and procedures. We are not looking at what happened in the past," he said.

He said Sempati's debt equity ratio was 4 percent.

"Sempati's current assets total about Rp 1 trillion with capital and debts amounting to Rp 210 billion and Rp 800 billion respectively," he said.

Fleets

Sempati, one of Indonesia's six scheduled airlines, operates 25 aircraft, five Fokker F-27s, seven F-100s, seven Boeing B-737- 200s, two F-70s and four Airbus A-300-B4s.

"We plan to replace the aging F-27s with new narrow-body aircraft. It would be ideal for Sempati to have 17 narrow-body aircraft in operation," Nainggolan said.

Sempati director of commerce Arie J.J. Toelle said Sempati was interested in operating Boeing aircraft in its new narrow-body fleet.

Toelle said Sempati, which serves 38 destinations in Indonesia and six foreign cities was looking at flying to Jeddah.

"We are waiting for government approval," he said.

Besides Sempati, the state-owned Merpati Nusantara Airlines is also looking at flying between Jakarta and Jeddah which is one of the most profitable routes. Only national flag carrier Garuda Indonesia serves this route now with three flights a week.

Talking about Sempati's initial public offering plan, Nainggolan said Sempati was unlikely to go public this year. "It looks like we will launch the initial public offering plan by 1998."

He said Sempati had strategic plans "which I can't tell you as it's too premature."

He said Singapore Airlines was interested in joining Sempati's private placement plan, but said Sempati was not ready for such a partnership. (icn)