Garuda Makes 1Q Loss As Fuel Costs Jump

Garuda Indonesia swung to a first quarter net loss of USD$99.1 million as fuel costs rose by over 50 percent.

Operating revenue for the Indonesian flag carrier rose 6.2 percent to $909.5 million, but costs jumped 21.3 percent to $1.02 billion. Fuel was the biggest contributor to the loss with an increase of 54 percent to $292.3 million.

The EBIT loss for the quarter was $109.4 million, from a $15.8 million profit the previous year period. The airline made a $0.8 million net profit in 1Q16.

Garuda carried 8.4 million passengers in the quarter to end March, an 8.4 percent uplift from the previous year. RPK (revenue passenger km) traffic was up 15.2 percent on an ASK (available seat km) capacity increase of 10.9 percent. Load factor rose 2.7 percentage points to 72.5 percent.

Passenger yield came in at 6.3 cents, a 7.6 percent drop. CASK (cost per ASK) rose 5.7 percent to 5.9 cents.

Both Garuda Indonesia and its low cost unit Citilink returned positive growth during the quarter, with Garuda RPK traffic up 16.6 percent, and Citilink up 9.3 percent.

The airlines grew their market share in the quarter, with international routes at 27.7 percent of the market from 26 percent in 2016. Domestic routes contributed a slightly lower share increase, up from 38.4 percent last year to 39.2 percent in 1Q17.