Latest news with #Garuda
Business Times
2 days ago
- Business
- Business Times
Garuda new 737 plane's higher rent may strain finances further
[JAKARTA] Garuda is paying twice as much to lease its latest Boeing 737 Max jet than it does for the older 737 planes in its fleet, another potential blow to its finances as it tries to return to profitability. The struggling Indonesian airline is paying around US$400,000 per month for the 737 Max 8 it has leased from BOC Aviation, according to people familiar with the matter. The state-owned carrier pays on average US$200,000 a month for its existing older Boeing 737-800 fleet, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing details that are private. BOC Aviation declined to comment. Representatives for Garuda didn't respond to a request for comment. Garuda, which is now owned by Indonesia's sovereign wealth fund Danantara, reported a full year loss in 2024 for the first time since restructuring nearly US$10 billion of debt in 2022. While the new Max 8 offers better fuel economy than the older planes, it's not clear whether the savings would be enough to compensate for the higher leasing costs. Outside of the difference in the age of the airframe, the doubling of the lease cost can in large part be attributed to the discounted rental prices that Garuda managed to get from its lessors during those debt restructuring negotiations. Danantara extended a US$405 million loan to Garuda just days before the airline agreed to lease the additional 737 Max. On Friday, the plane was en-route to Indonesia, according to data from flight tracking website FlightRadar24. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up Garuda is already having trouble keeping its existing fleet in the air, with about 10 per cent of its planes grounded as recently as May as it struggled to make maintenance payments. Nearly 16 per cent of revenue in 2024 was for maintenance and repairs, the highest ratio among flag carriers globally, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Garuda could receive US$800 million to US$1.2 billion more from Danantara to assist with payments to maintenance and leasing companies, Bloomberg reported earlier this week, citing people familiar with the matter. Further pressure on the airline may come as it has to take new aircraft after Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto reached a trade deal with US leader Donald Trump that included the purchase of 50 Boeing aircraft. That could force Garuda to agree to a deal under terms it doesn't necessarily favour and with jets it doesn't actually need. Trump announced in a social media post on Tuesday that Indonesia will order 50 aircraft, including 'many' of Boeing's larger 777 planes, without disclosing a buyer. Garuda chief executive officer Wamildan Tsani Panjaitan has previously said he's in talks to buy 50 to 75 Boeing aircraft, including 737 Max and 787-9 Dreamliner models. BLOOMBERG
Bloomberg
2 days ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Garuda New 737 Plane's Higher Rent May Strain Finances Further
Garuda is paying twice as much to lease its latest Boeing Co. 737 Max jet than it does for the older 737 planes in its fleet, another potential blow to its finances as it tries to return to profitability. The struggling Indonesian airline is paying around $400,000 per month for the 737 Max 8 it has leased from BOC Aviation Ltd., according to people familiar with the matter. The state-owned carrier pays on average $200,000 a month for its existing older Boeing 737-800 fleet, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing details that are private.
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
2 days ago
- Business
- Business Standard
Garuda Construction shares fly 20%, hit record on stellar Q1 nos; details
Garuda Construction and Engineering share price: Garuda Construction and Engineering share price was buzzing in trade on the last trading day of the week i.e. Friday, July 18, 2025, with the scrip skyrocketing 19.87 per cent to hit a fresh all-time high (record high) of ₹179.80 per share. Around 1:10 PM, Garuda Construction share price continued to trade near record high levels, up 18.7 per cent at ₹178.05. By comparison, BSE Sensex was trading 0.74 per cent lower at 81,649.63 levels. What sparked the northward rally in Garuda Construction share price? Garuda Construction shares rose after the company posted stellar results in the June quarter of financial year 2026 (Q1FY26). The company's profit more than tripled, or jumped 224 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) to ₹28 crore in Q1FY26, from ₹9 crore in Q1FY25. Its revenue from operations climbed 256 per cent Y-o-Y to ₹125.2 crore in the June quarter of FY26, from ₹35.1 crore in the June quarter of FY25. At the operating front, earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) soared 212.4 per cent annually to ₹36.4 crore in Q1FY26, as against ₹11.7 crore in the same quarter previous fiscal year. Ebitda margin, however, squeezed to 29.1 per cent in Q1FY26, from 33.2 per cent in the same quarter last year (Q1FY25). Garuda Construction IPO listing Garuda Construction and Engineering made a strong debut on the stock exchanges on Tuesday, with its shares listing at ₹103.20 on the BSE, marking an 8.63 per cent premium over the IPO issue price of ₹95. On the NSE, the stock opened even higher at ₹105, reflecting a 10.52 per cent gain from its issue price. About Garuda Construction Garuda Construction and Engineering Limited, established in 2010 and headquartered in Mumbai, is an emerging player in India's civil construction sector. The company engages in end-to-end construction solutions for residential, commercial, infrastructure, and industrial projects. Its service offerings span the entire project lifecycle – from planning, design, and engineering to resource mobilisation, execution, and final delivery. In addition to core construction, Garuda also provides value-added services such as operations and maintenance (O&M), mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) works, and finishing services. With a strong focus on quality, safety, and on-time project delivery, Garuda has built a solid track record across diverse projects, including hotels, residential complexes, and public infrastructure such as the Delhi Police Headquarters.
Business Times
3 days ago
- Business
- Business Times
Trump's trade deal pushes Garuda to learn to love 737 Max again
[JAKARTA] Five months after a Boeing 737 Max aircraft operated by Lion Air crashed into the Java Sea in 2018, Indonesian flag carrier Garuda Indonesia tried to cancel its remaining order for the same model. Now, the country is working to revive that deal as it seeks to forge favourable ties with US President Donald Trump's administration. Trump announced in a social media post on Tuesday (Jul 15) that Indonesia will order 50 aircraft, including 'many' of Boeing's larger 777 planes. While Trump did not disclose a buyer, Garuda chief executive officer Wamildan Tsani Panjaitan had previously said he's in talks to buy 50 to 75 Boeing aircraft, including 737 Max and 787-9 Dreamliner models. The accord points to the intertwined political and economic interests whenever Trump negotiates with foreign leaders. The US President has previously announced aircraft purchases while visiting countries including Qatar, or when he's hammered out trade agreements with the likes of Vietnam or the UK. In Indonesia's case, Trump said he got the deal over the line in direct negotiations with President Prabowo Subianto during a phone call. The dilemma for Boeing is how to restore or expand the existing 49-jet Max order without leaving Garuda in a financial and strategic bind. The airline is already having trouble keeping its existing fleet airworthy, with at least 15 jets grounded as recently as May, as it struggles to make maintenance payments. At the same time, the state-owned carrier, alongside the Danantara sovereign wealth fund that owns Garuda, is under pressure to move quickly with an announcement to please Trump, according to people familiar with the discussions. The airline and Boeing do not yet have an agreement on the models and quantities that would typically be in such an announcement, said the sources, who asked not to be identified discussing private matters. Boeing referred any questions to Garuda. The airline and its owner did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU Friday, 8.30 am Asean Business Business insights centering on South-east Asia's fast-growing economies. Sign Up Sign Up On its own, Garuda does not even have the funds to finance the earlier 737 Max agreement, the sources said. That may prompt Danantara to step in by providing some sort of guarantee or a shareholder loan similar to the US$405 million it put forward last month, the sources said. Garuda may receive between US$800 million and US$1.2 billion more from Danantara to assist with payments to maintenance and leasing companies, they added. As a result, any plane deal could be structured as a purchase while the parties discuss financing options with Danantara and lessors for a later stage, the sources said. But given the weighty political implications, Garuda may feel pressure to agree to a deal under terms it does not necessarily favour and with jets it does not actually need, one of the sources said. Trump is known to combine state visits with tariff announcements to flex his deal-making skills. During his tour of the Middle East, he announced an aircraft accord in every country he visited, including a record plane purchase by Qatar Airways. Not all of those transactions are necessarily what they appear to be. Trump has previously announced inaccurate sizes for accords, wrong numbers of purchased jets or has mixed up aircraft types. He's also presented old agreements as new ones. Some deals that were announced during his first term meanwhile, have since fallen through. At this point, Garuda only operates eight older 777-300 aircraft, raising the question of why the airline would want to buy Boeing's yet-to-be-certified successor in large quantities, as Trump has suggested. The earlier 737 Max order still sits on Boeing's books under a special US accounting category for at-risk deals that are not likely to materialise, the sources said. The state-owned carrier sank back into the red in 2024 after an almost US$10 billion debt restructuring failed to revive its fortunes. That performance is in contrast to its peers in the region that are profitable as they benefit from a rebound in travel demand after the pandemic. BLOOMBERG
Time of India
5 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
From soil to sky: How Garuda's war room is arming India for the drone wars of tomorrow
Operation Sindoor didn't just showcase India's evolving drone capabilities. It also underscored a larger truth — that the very nature of warfare is changing. And in this new landscape, the future belongs to those who prepare, not those who scramble to catch up. When the Indian Army rolled out drones during Operation Sindoor, it wasn't to dazzle with payloads or fly-by firepower. These were not big drones dropping bombs. Instead, they were smaller, smarter, tactical assets operating in silence: scouting routes, mapping terrain, ferrying supplies, and aiding search-and-rescue teams in unforgiving environments. For years, India's defence drone playbook had been limited a mix of foreign imports and basic ISR systems used sparingly. However, Operation Sindoor signalled that India was finally waking up to the idea that drones weren't just sidekicks to traditional warfare. They were becoming central to how wars would be fought — and more importantly, won. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Indonesia: New Container Houses (Prices May Surprise You) Container House | Search ads Search Now Undo For Garuda Aerospace , that shift wasn't just a military moment. It was a validation of a slow-burning strategy that's been years in the making. Founded in 2015 by Agnishwar Jayaprakash, a former Indian swimming captain and Harvard Business School graduate, Garuda began as an agri-tech startup. Its drones sprayed fertiliser, mapped villages, inspected infrastructure, and operated in the kinds of civilian spaces most defence players wouldn't even consider. Live Events 'We always thought defence was for the big boys,' Jayaprakash told ET Online. 'We weren't ready for 300-day payment cycles or chasing massive procurement projects. So we built where the problems were immediate.' The firm grew quietly, selling over 4,000 agri-drones and dominating nearly 40% of the domestic market. But over time, something changed. 'We started seeing gaps in the defence sector, parts no one else was touching,' he said. 'Landmine detection, logistics in conflict zones, drones that could carry supplies, detect movement, and even defuse threats.' So Garuda pivoted. Thinking small, acting big At Aero India 2025, Garuda unveiled a range of indigenous defence drone systems: Landmine detection and diffusement drones Rocket-launcher UAVs Loitering munitions Logistics and firefighting UAVs for the SDRF Rescue drones, VR pilot simulators, and a Thales-backed air traffic management system for unmanned skies. Each is part of a growing portfolio aimed not at replacing existing defence systems but complementing them. These aren't headline-grabbing billion-dollar platforms. They're precision tools for complex missions in terrain where human movement is slow or risky. 'We don't focus on areas where people are already big,' Jayaprakash said. 'We look at multi-role drones, ISR systems, and platforms that solve multiple problems, from surveillance to search-and-rescue.' What sets Garuda apart is its conviction in being nimble. Unlike legacy firms, it isn't chasing size. It's building drones that switch roles mid-flight, that can sniff out a buried mine or carry medical kits across a hostile zone. They're investing in underwater and tethered drones. These aren't just prototypes. They're built for fieldwork. The reality check: Preparedness over panic India's awakening to the drone age hasn't been voluntary. It's been reactive. Jayaprakash is frank about it: 'We weren't ready during the initial days of the conflict between India and Pakistan. Many of our drones were getting shot down. Their drones were backed by China, Iran, Turkey and Pakistan and they had better endurance and payload capacity. We were up against a four-on-one attack.' The lesson was hard-hitting. Surveillance drones weren't enough anymore. India needed kamikaze drones, swarm drones, tethered surveillance units, and UAVs that could operate inside urban combat zones and explode on command. 'Until now, we've relied either on high-end imports from countries like Israel, or on low-grade drones built to outdated specs,' he said. 'That has to change.' Operation Sindoor is now being seen as a wake-up call across military planning circles — a moment where India was forced to acknowledge that the drone battlefield is real, and preparation must begin long before the first shot is fired. Manufacturing: Made at home, by design One of the biggest constraints to India's defence readiness has been dependence on foreign imports. Garuda is aggressively cutting that cord. Its Chennai facility — now expanded to 35,000 sq ft — manufactures seven drone subsystems and 33 parts in-house. That's about 80% of each drone built locally. 'To cut dependence on imports, we had to make things ourselves,' said Jayaprakash. 'Geopolitics changes overnight. We don't want to be stuck waiting.' Their roadmap includes a new dedicated defence drone manufacturing unit outside Chennai with a capacity of 15,000 drones per year, aimed at fully integrating motors, batteries, sensors and communications subsystems. The effort is backed by the government's Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme and aligns with the national goal of becoming a drone hub by 2030. And it's not just about machines. Garuda also opened India's first Agri-Drone Indigenisation Facility and launched 300 pilot training centres. A DGCA-approved Train-the-Trainer programme ensures there's talent ready to deploy not just hardware. Partnerships that helped build Recognising the steep technical demands of modern defence tech, Garuda has turned to strategic partnerships to amplify its capabilities. Thales brings in cutting-edge radar and UTM systems. Tata Elxsi contributes AI and autonomy for smart-city and combat applications. DRDO, HAL, HFCL, and REIL work on communication, surveillance and R&D. Meanwhile, collaborations with Cognizant, BEML, and international partners like SAS (Greece) have helped fast-track advanced products like rocket-launcher drones and landmine diffusers. 'These partnerships aren't about logos,' Jayaprakash explained. 'They're about reliability. We learn from them. We co-develop. And we ensure the final product is ready for Indian conditions.' But even partnerships have their limits, while R&D in India remains hard, funding is tight, talent is mobile and attrition is high. 'We run a frugal ship. We can't always match salaries offered by the big players. So our best engineers often get poached,' he said. 'That's why partnerships are also our insurance as they keep the project alive even if people change.' The defence drone economy: A new theatre of growth As India wakes up to its strategic vulnerabilities, the defence drone sector is poised to become one of the most vital and volatile parts of the military industrial complex. Yet, the real opportunity may not lie in headline-grabbing billion-dollar contracts, but in the smaller, forgotten parts of warfare: ISR, logistics, detection, post-blast analysis, mine clearing, and disaster response. That's exactly where Garuda wants to play. Quietly, precisely, and with products no one else wants to build. 'Defence is a tough game,' Jayaprakash admits. 'Specs change. Payments are delayed. Overnight someone underbids you. But we've stayed profitable because we chose our entry carefully.' The numbers are starting to show it. Revenues have grown from ₹15 crore in FY22 to over ₹120 crore last year. A ₹100 crore Series B fundraise has pushed their valuation to $250 million. An IPO is in the works. But the mission is far from over. India's defence preparedness can no longer afford to lag behind. Whether it's drones that detect threats or ones that carry the fight forward, the need is no longer optional it's urgent. Operation Sindoor proved one thing: wars of the future will be won not just with brute force, but with better sensors, faster decision-making, and assets that can be deployed in hours, not months.
