Cebu Pacific defers PSE listing anew

Cebu Pacific Air, the airline of the Gokongwei group, said that its plans to list at the Philippine Stock Exchange will have to be postponed further until market conditions improve.

Cebu Pacific Air president Lance Gokongwei said the current market is not conducive for an initial public offering (IPO). "It is very difficult to have an IPO under the current environment. The market cannot support the IPO," he said.

Based on the franchise issued to it by Congress, Cebu Pacific is required to offer to the public at least 30 percent of its common stock within 10 years from the effectivity of its license. The company was granted a Congressional license in September 1991.

At present, the second flag carrier is focusing on the takeoff of its international flights in the region and eventually in the United States.

The company began its regional expansion with twice-daily flights to Hong Kong in November 2001 and four times weekly service to Seoul in March 2002 and quickly made a dent among air travelers by offering lower fares compared with other carriers.

Following the introduction of its Manila-Singapore service, Cebu Pacific is looking at flying to three new regional destinations this year – China, Taiwan and Japan.

The carrier also has designations from the Philippine government to fly to Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Guam, Japan, Australia, China, Taiwan and the US.

Operations-wise, the carrier has gone into further belt tightening measures by closely watching for unnecessary and reducible cost items while postponing the implementation of new projects.

Profits of Cebu Pacific grew 15 percent to P234 million in the first nine months of the year from P203.4 million the previous year due to higher passenger yield and increased load factor.