MACROASIA CUTS LOSSES AS TRAVEL RETURNS

Aircraft maintenance provider MacroAsia Corp. reduced its net loss in the first quarter after all its core revenue channels showed better performance amid the return of travel due to easing of mobility restrictions.

The Lucio Tan-led company reported that its net loss amounted to P52.09 million as of end-March, much lower than the P284.36 million it incurred in the same period last year, as total revenues rose by 79 percent to P710.27 million year-on-year.

Its ground handling and aviation segments saw its topline figures improve by 42 percent to P307.9 million as of end-March from P216.73 million last year. The number of flights handled was up 42 percent to 23,266.

Revenues from in-flight catering rose by 109 percent to P275.02 million for the period from last year’s P131.29 million. The number of meals served increased to 2.19 million in the first quarter from just less than 600,000 year-on-year.

Water operation revenues nearly tripled to P107.39 million as the billed volume of water rose by 161 percent to 3.87 million cubic meters for the period.

Its aviation training school, meanwhile, booked 120-percent growth in revenues at P12.68 million as the “conduct of operations and training have improved during the current period.”

With the business volume growth, MacroAsia’s direct costs also increased by 46 percent to P669.5 million in the first quarter from P458.79 million year-on-year.

“While the core business segments of the group continue to be impacted by the downturn in air travel due to COVID-19-related quarantine and airport restrictions since the onset of the pandemic, 2022 volume developments now trend towards recovery in the airline industry,” the company said.