Garuda swings to loss despite revenue jump

Garuda Indonesia swung back to a nine-month loss despite an increase in revenues, on the absence of restructuring gains and as it took a hit from foreign exchange losses. For the nine months to 30 September, the Jakarta-based carrier posted a pre-tax loss of $103m, against the $3.9b profit in the year-ago period. Revenue for the nine months rose about 48% year on year to $2.2b, led by a rise in passenger travel revenue. The airline saw a 7% rise in costs to almost $2b, with passenger services and flight operations expenses seeing the largest increase. Still, the airline was able to slash its MRO-related costs, as well as administrative expenses. Garuda incurred $13m in foreign exchange losses for the period, compared to the $103m gain in the year-ago period. Furthermore, the airline did not report any income gained from debt restructuring, unlike in the year-ago period. The airline disclosed a net loss of $72.4m for the nine-month period, a sharp contrast from the $3.7b net profit last year. Garuda ended the period with nearly $352m in cash and cash equivalents, lower than the $522m at the start of the year. Still, it is a higher figure than the $168m in cash in the year-ago period. <br/>