Garuda swings to net profit, ANA profit soars
JAKARTA: Indonesian flagship airline PT Garuda Indonesia Tbk swung to a net profit in the first half of 2015 from a loss a year earlier, sending its shares up more than 7% yesterday.
Garuda also signed an agreement worth around US$600 million (RM2.29 billion) with aircraft engine supplier GE Aviation, a unit of US conglomerate General Electric Co, to equip 50 planes that it recently ordered.
The airline posted a net profit of US$27.7 million for the six months ended June compared to a restated US$203 million loss a year ago, it said in an announcement published by newspaper Bisnis Indonesia yesterday.
Garuda made a profit of US$16.3 million for the April-June quarter, higher than the US$11.4 million profit it booked in the previous quarter, according to Reuters calculation.
The airline’s performance was lifted by cost reductions as well as fuel and currency hedging, Garuda officials said yesterday.
Garuda has done a “network restructuring” by focusing on more profitable routes, chief executive Arif Wibowo told reporters. It had also hedged 45% of its fuel needs and is aiming to gradually raise that level to at least 50% this year, compared to about 10% last year.
In Tokyo, Japanese carrier ANA pointed to a weak yen and a jump in international visitors for a soaring fiscal first-quarter profit, as the airline also benefited from dropping fuel costs and more landing slots at a Tokyo airport.
ANA Holdings, the parent company of All Nippon Airways, said operating profit skyrocketed to ¥16.7 billion (RM515 million) from just 347 million yen a year ago, while net income more than doubled to ¥8.4 billion from ¥3.5 billion. Revenue rose 7.0% at ¥413.9 billion, it said.
ANA left its full-year forecast unchanged, still expecting net profit of ¥52 billion on revenue of ¥1.79 trillion.
“International passenger numbers and revenues both increased due to steady business demand and growing numbers of in-bound travellers to Japan,” the company said in a statement.
Falling oil prices have also helped the carrier’s bottom line – fuel is often an airline’s single-biggest expense. – Agencies