Cebu Air income falls 38% in 9 months

Net income of the operator of Cebu Pacific and Cebgo declined 38 percent in the first nine months as it incurred higher expenses due to the increase in fuel prices and weakening of the peso.

In a filing to the Philippine Stock Exchange, Cebu Air Inc. said its net earnings reached P4.38 billion as of end-September, down from P7.1 billion in the same period last year.

However, revenues rose 7.8 percent to P50.33 billion in the nine-month period from P46.69 billion the previous year.

Passenger revenue grew 4.5 percent to P36.93 billion from January to September compared to the P35.36 billion in the same period a year ago.

Passenger volume went up 2.7 percent to 14.87 million as of end-September from the 14.48 million a year ago.

Cargo revenue climbed 29 percent to P3.29 billion in the nine months from P2.55 billion in the same period last year due to the increase in the volume of cargo transported.

Ancillary revenue posted a 15 percent increase to P10.11 billion for the January to September period from the previous year’s P8.79 billion as a result of improved online bookings, pricing adjustments and a wider range of ancillary revenue products and services.

Cebu Air’s operating expenses amounted to P43.09 billion as of end-September, 15.7 percent higher than the P37.24 billion in the same period a year ago.

“The increase was primarily due to the rise in fuel prices in 2017 coupled with the weakening of the peso against the dollar,” Cebu Air said.

It added the growth in the airline’s seat capacity from the acquisition of new aircraft also contributed to the increase in expenses.

As of end-September, Cebu Air had 62 aircraft being utilized for its flights, up from 56 in the same period last year.