Indofarma's Boncos, Workers Ordered to Work Despite Unpaid Wages

PT Indofarma Tbk's financial reports reveal recurring losses since 2018. This financial turmoil has resulted in the company's inability to pay employee salaries for several months.

Net profit attributable to the parent entity plummeted to Rp32.73 billion in 2018. That year, net sales reached Rp1.59 trillion, with cost of goods sold at Rp1.3 trillion.

The following year, the company, listed under the code INAF, actually recorded a profit of Rp7.96 billion. Net sales reached Rp1.35 trillion, and the cost of goods sold was Rp1.10 trillion.

In 2020, INAF remained profitable, although significantly less than in 2019, with a profit of only Rp27 million. Net sales were Rp1.71 trillion, and the cost of goods sold was Rp1.31 trillion.

In 2021, the company's net profit turned negative, reaching Rp37.5 billion. Net sales surged to Rp2.9 trillion, but the cost of goods sold also ballooned to Rp2.45 trillion.

Then, in 2022, net profit fell to Rp428.46 billion. Net sales were only Rp1.14 trillion, while the cost of goods sold was significantly higher at Rp1.25 trillion.

The latest report, as of September 2023, shows that INAF is still operating at a loss of Rp191.69 billion. Net sales were Rp445.7 billion, and the cost of goods sold was Rp435.46 billion.

As of September 2023, INAF's assets total Rp1.49 trillion. This comprises liabilities of Rp1.59 trillion and negative equity of Rp105.35 billion.

(See also: [Link to BRI profit article])

Failure to Pay Employee Salaries

An anonymous source revealed to *Katadata* that Indofarma employees' January and March salaries remained unpaid as of late April.

Several employees are currently refusing to work from the office, opting for work from home (WFH) due to the delayed salary payments.

“We were supposed to come in to the office tomorrow, but many refused because we haven't received our salaries,” the source told *Katadata* on Tuesday, April 23, 2024.

The source and their colleagues were instructed to continue working according to the normal schedule, with shifts from 7 am to 4 pm and from 3 pm to 11 pm.

However, the employee stated that only the warehouse and human resources (HR) departments are currently working from the office. Indofarma has also stopped providing lunch for its employees after failing to pay their salaries.

“A state-owned company is making its citizens suffer,” they said.

Previously, Indofarma acknowledged its failure to pay March 2024 salaries. Indofarma's CEO, Yeliandriani, explained that the company lacked sufficient operational funds to meet this obligation.

"The company does not have sufficient operational funds to meet its employee wage payment obligations," Yeliandri stated in a disclosure to the Indonesia Stock Exchange (BEI) on Wednesday, April 17, 2024.

Yeliandri added that the company paid employee THR (Religious Festival Allowance) in full on April 5, 2024, in accordance with Indofarma's Collective Labor Agreement.

This Biofarma subsidiary has struggled to pay employee salaries since the beginning of 2024. Another employee, Dimas, stated that he only received his full salary in February, but only 50% in January.

“Previously, in January, Indofarma held a demonstration at the Ministry of SOEs. January's salary was paid, but only 50%,” Dimas told *Katadata* on Monday, April 8.

Dimas said the company granted a three-week leave period before and after the February 2024 general election. Management then announced the company's problems and 'invited' employees who wished to resign.

*Disclaimer*: There have been changes to the narrative and data for 2023. The data originally referred to the June 2023 report has been changed to the September 2023 report on Friday, April 26, 2024, at 5:28 PM WIB.

(Read *Katadata*: [Link to Katadata article])