Cebu Air bounces back with P2.67-billion profit

CEBU AIR, Inc. announced on Thursday that it turned around from a P1.89-billion loss last year to a P2.67-billion net profit in the second quarter, propelled by a significant boost in passenger revenues.

“The past few months have been one of the toughest for Cebu Air, but we remain steadfast in our commitment to provide safe, reliable, and affordable flights to our passengers and support economic growth in the Philippines and across the region,” Alexander G. Lao, Cebu Air president and chief executive officer, said in a statement.

From April to June, the company’s top line reached P22.67 billion, marking a 62.3% increase from last year’s revenues of P13.97 billion during the same period.

“This is on the back of over 36,300 flights flown during the quarter, which was 22% higher year on year but 1% below the same period in 2019,” the company said.

Passenger revenues, totaling P15.84 billion, constituted the majority of Cebu Air’s second-quarter top line, reflecting an 86.3% increase compared to last year’s passenger revenues of P8.51 billion.

The company saw a 49.7% decline in cargo revenues, which amounted to P866.9 million, down from P1.72 billion in the same period the previous year.

Throughout the quarter, the company transported 5.46 million passengers, marking a 29% increase compared to the previous year.

Additionally, the company observed an improvement in its average seat load factor, which reached 86% for the second quarter, up from 77% a year ago.

The company’s expenses for the quarter reached P20.15 billion, an increase of 20% from P16.79 billion expenses last year.

For the first semester, the company achieved an attributable net income of P3.75 billion, marking a turnaround from the P9.5 billion net loss incurred last year.

Cebu Air’s top line more than doubled to P43.55 billion during the first six months of the year, up from P20.68 billion in the corresponding period last year.

“The overall increase in revenues was primarily driven by significant increase in passenger volume and flight activities due to the increased demand for travel,” the company said in its financial report.

It added that the relaxed alert level classification for most parts of the country allowed it to resume its regular pre-pandemic services.

Expenses from January to June were P39.79 billion, a 38% increase from the P28.84 billion expenses booked in 2022, which it attributed to the increase in the company’s operations. — Justine Irish D. Tabile