Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 12) — The operator of budget carrier Cebu Pacific saw its losses swell to ₱7.61 billion despite seeing an improvement in passenger volume in the first three months of 2022.
But Cebu Air’s revenues surged 147.6% to ₱6.7 billion against the ₱2.7 billion generated in the same period last year as air traffic ramped up following the easing of travel restrictions, particularly in March.
The group said passenger revenues hit ₱3.16 billion, a significant increase from ₱887.4 million posted in the January-March period of 2021.
Cebu Air added the airline posted a 272.4% jump in passenger volume, reaching 2 million flyers. The number of flights also grew by 128.3%.
Its cargo performed better too with ₱1.84 billion in revenues against the previous ₱1.32 billion. Ancillary revenues, meanwhile, also went up to ₱1.7 billion.
“Currently, the Group is expecting the continued increase in demand for airline services as the country gradually opens not only to domestic travels but also to international destinations,” it said.
As the company boosted its operations, operating expenses in the period expanded 26.4% to ₱12.04 billion.
In a disclosure Thursday, Cebu Air said last quarter’s net loss was 4.3% higher than the ₱7.29 billion sustained a year ago. The company attributed this to the ₱2.52 billion in non-core losses, “primarily due to forex translation of dollar denominated loans and unrealized mark to market losses from the derivative value of its convertible bonds.”
