ER
THE performance of PT Garuda Indonesia Tbk this year is predicted to no longer fly high. It is estimated that Garuda Indonesia has suffered another financial loss, along with the COVID-19 pandemic which is still incomplete.
Last year, Garuda Indonesia’s financial performance fell deeply. As of the third quarter of 2020, Garuda Indonesia’s revenue fell 67.85% to US$1.14 billion, from US$3.54 billion in the third quarter of 2019.
Garuda Indonesiapun posted a net loss of US$1.07 billion. This condition is reversed from the third quarter of the previous year which was still earning a net profit of US$122.42 million.
Until now, Garuda Indonesia has not published a financial report until the close of 2020. The President Director of Garuda Indonesia, Irfan Setiaputra, is reluctant to comment much on Garuda Indonesia’s performance last year or projections for this year.
To be sure, Irfan said that the financial statements for the 2020 financial year will be published soon. Meanwhile, currently, the management of Garuda Indonesia is focusing on completing the employee early retirement program.
“It’s final, right now. No further comment. We and the team focus on solving early retirement issues first,” said Irfan.
Contacted separately, aviation observer Alvin Lie admitted that he was not surprised if Garuda Indonesia’s financial performance until the end of 2020 was in a bloody condition. This is because the drop in financial performance was also felt by other airlines, especially those relying on international routes.
In the midst of the pandemic that is still looming, Alvin predicts large losses will continue. In fact, signs of improvement to be able to reverse performance from loss to profit are not seen until 2022. In this condition, efficiency is the key.
“The key is survival, how to survive. To cover the losses, we still can’t see how. The most possible thing is to minimize the safety in the current year. This is what Garuda is now doing. Efficiency everywhere,” Alvin finished. [kontan.co.id/photo special]
