Cebu Pacific flies back to profitability

MANILA, Philippines — Low-cost carrier Cebu Pacific returned to profitability and booked a net income of P1.08 billion in the first quarter of the year, reversing the P7.6 billion net loss recorded in the same quarter last year.

During the period, Cebu Air Inc., operator of Cebu Pacific, tripled its revenue to P20.88 billion from P6.71 billion.

Although cargo income dipped by 39 percent to P1.13 billion, revenue from the passenger segment went up fivefold to P14.28 billion, while earnings from the ancillary business tripled to P5.46 billion.

From January to March this year, Cebu Pacific flew more than 4.8 million passengers, driving load factor up to 83 percent, as the airline raised the utilization of its aircraft and the productivity of its crew that contributed to its return to profitability.

“During the first quarter of 2023, Cebu Pacific continued to its pre-pandemic services since most parts of the country are under a more relaxed alert level classification since 2022,” Cebu Air said in its financial statement.

The airline’s expenses jumped by 63 percent to P19.64 billion from P12.05 billion amid increased spending to serve the resurgent demand for air travel.

Cebu Air also booked P644.09 million in foreign exchange gains, flipping the P316.97 million loss in 2022 when the peso was depreciating against the US dollar.

For the second quarter, Cebu Air expects to breach its pre-pandemic capacity with the addition of new routes and schedules in its Clark and Cebu hubs.

It is resuming flights for strategic locations as well like Manila to Laoag, Iloilo to Puerto Princesa, and Iloilo to Cagayan de Oro.

To date, Cebu Pacific operates flights to 34 domestic and 24 foreign routes.

The Gokongwei-led carrier deploys more than 2,100 flights every week and projects this frequency to grow further as demand for air travel recovers.

Between May and June, Cebu Pacific will introduce Clark flights to Cagayan de Oro and Puerto Princesa, as well as to Incheon and Narita, to provide travel options for passengers coming from the north of Luzon.

Cebu Air has allocated a budget of P42 billion for capital expenditures for the year, as it plans to take in at least 15 Airbus aircraft to boost its fleet.