Cebu Air Inc., operator of Philippine budget carrier Cebu Pacific, said Monday it booked a net income of P1.3 billion in the third quarter, a sharp reversal from a net loss of P2.5 billion in the year-earlier period on strong recovery of the travel industry. It is also higher than pre-pandemic profits.
Total revenue reported by the budget carrier of the Gokongwei Group in the third quarter surged 39 percent year-on-year to P23.3 billion.
Cebu Pacific flew over 5.3 million passengers aboard 35,000 flights, which are 27 percent and 18 percent higher year-on-year, respectively. Seat load factor improved 9.7 percentage points to 83.7 percent. International operations more than tripled the number of passengers to 1.3 million, especially with increasing travel to Japan, Taiwan and Hong Kong.
Strong domestic travel allowed Cebu Pacific to fly 4 million passengers during the quarter, up 5 percent on account of a change in school calendars, which shifted graduation and school breaks towards the months of June to August.
Operating expenses were up 5 percent to P21 billion due to higher fuel costs and fleet-related expenses resulting from the addition of more aircraft.
Operating income reached P2.4 billion, a reversal from last year’s operating loss of over P3 billion, and more than double the operating income in the same quarter of 2019.
“Cebu Pacific continued its financial recovery in the third quarter, and we remain optimistic on its future growth” said Mark Cezar, chief finance officer of Cebu Air.
