Cebu Air, Inc., operator of Cebu Pacific, said it has set a higher capital expenditure (capex) budget by 19 percent next year, maily for the acquisition of brand new aircraft.
“We estimate around P50 billion capex for 2024. It is mostly aircraft-related capex. Next year we are getting 16 aircraft,” Alexander Lao, president and chief commercial officer, said The airline set out on a P42-billion capex this year for aircraft-related expenses
Lao said the capex next year will be funded through internally-generated funds.
The airline also projected to grow by 5 percent to 8 percent in terms of capacity next year, according to Lao.
“If we grow by 8 percent next year, let’s see if we can hit 24 million passengers,” he added.
For this year, Lao said Cebu Pacific will miss the 22 million passenger target due to issues with Airbus engine supplier Pratt and Whitney (P&W).
“I think it [passenger traffic] would be slightly below [22 million] this year given the Pratt and Whitney (P&W) engine issue,” he added.
In the first nine months, Cebu Pacific carried 15.53 million passengers, up 49 percent compared to 10.43 million passengers in the same period last year.
Cebu Pacific posted net income of P5.02 billion in the first nine months, a turnaround from P12.04 billion in the same period last year.
Revenues amounted to P66.89 billion, up 78 percent from P37.53 billion last year.
Cebu Pacific flies to 35 domestic and 25 international destinations across Asia, Australia, and the Middle East.
The airline operates one of the youngest fleets in the world with its diversified fleet mix of 74 aircraft enabling the widest network destinations in the Philippines. It has six Airbus 330s, 33 Airbus 320s, 19 Airbus 321s, and 16 ATR turboprop aircraft.
