Profit at Garuda Airlines may drop by 80%

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) - Profits for Indonesia's state-run air carrier Garuda are expected to plunge by 80 percent this year due to a sharp drop in passengers during the SARS outbreak, the Iraq war and terror attacks at home, a newspaper reported Friday. 

Garuda President Indra Setiawan said Garuda would report a net profit of around 100 billion rupiah (US$11.7 million) at the end of this year, down from 503 billion rupiah (US$59 million) in 2002, the Jakarta Post daily reported.