• Cebu Pacific nets 12% more in Q1

Net earnings of the operator of Cebu Pacific and Cebgo rose by 12 percent in the first quarter from a year ago, driven by higher revenues.

Cebu Air Inc. said in a filing with the Philippine Stock Exchange yesterday, its net income reached P1.44 billion from January to March, up from the P1.28 billion in the same period last year.

For the first three months, Cebu Air ’s revenue amounted to P18.26 billion, 8.3 percent higher than the previous year’s P16.86 billion.

Passenger revenue, in particular, increased by 11.4 percent to P13.68 billion in the first quarter from P12.28 billion a year ago.

Cebu Air attributed the higher revenue to the 10 percent increase in average fares to P2,805 for the first quarter from P2,551 in the same period last year.

“The growth in passenger volume to 4.876 million from 4.813 million last year also contributed to the increase in revenue,” it said.

Cargo revenue also climbed by 26 percent to P1.28 billion as of end-March from P1.02 billion in the previous year following the increase in volume of cargo.

While passenger and cargo revenues posted an increase year-on-year, ancillary revenue dropped by 7.5 percent to P3.31 billion for the January to March period this year from P3.57 billion a year ago.

This, as there was an 8.7 percent decline in average ancillary revenue per passenger mainly due to the lower baggage and pre-ordered meals in line with the suspension of Middle East operations last year.

Ce bu Air’ s expenses, meanwhile, came in 11.8 percent higher at P16 billion in the first quarter from P14.30 billion last year.