Garuda Indonesia's Full Year 2012 Net Profit Shows Robust Growth
Garuda Indonesia (GIAA), one of Indonesia's biggest airlines, posted a 100 percent increase in net profit to US $145.4 million in 2012 from US $72.7 million a year earlier. Operating profit of the company rose 82 percent to US $110.8 million from US $64.2 million in 2011. These numbers were supported by a 19.6 percent increase in passengers from 17.1 million in 2011 to 20.4 million last year, while its seat load factor rose to 75.9 percent from a previous 75.2 percent.
On Wednesday's trading day, Garuda's stocks rose 6.25 percent to close at the level of 680. It was was the third most-active stock on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IHSG) today.
In recent years, Garuda has experienced a remarkable transition towards becoming a world-class airline; a transition that is acknowledged by international critical acclaim. In 2010, Skytrax promoted Garuda to a four-star airline and proclaimed it as the world's most improved airline. Two years later, Skytrax named Garuda as the world's best regional airline.
The Asia-Pacific region is one of the world's fastest growing regions in terms of air travel. In the next 20 years, an average annual seven percent growth of air traffic is expected. Indonesia, the current engine of economic growth in Southeast Asia and one of the largest economies in the Asia-Pacific, contains a burgeoning middle class that increasingly uses airplanes for domestic and international transport. Being the world's largest archipelago (containing thousands of islands), air travel is an efficient option for fast travel across the country.
| 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | |
| Airline Passengers Indonesia |
58.3 | 66.0 | 72.5 |
| - Domestic (in million) |
51.7 | 58.8 | 63.6 |
| - Foreign (in million) |
6.6 | 7.2 | 8.9 |
Source: Ministry of Transportation