Cebu Air Inc., the operator of Cebu Pacific, said Thursday said it narrowed its net loss by 45.2 percent in the first nine months on the back of higher passenger revenues.
The airline unit of the Gokongwei Group posted a net loss of P12.04 billion from January to September, down from P21.99-billion loss it booked in the same period last year.
The company said the net loss in the third quarter also eased to P2.5 billion from P8.2 billion last year.
“We are encouraged by some notable improvements in our numbers amidst the ongoing challenges related to fuel and foreign exchange rates,” said Cebu Pacific chief financial officer Mark Cezar.
“We remain cautiously optimistic that through our ongoing initiatives, coupled with a sustained increase in passenger traffic, we will soon see better days ahead,” he said.
CEB said revenues surged 310.2 percent to P37.53 billion in the first nine months from P9.15 billion a year earlier.
“The overall increase in revenues was primarily driven by significant increase in passenger volume, cargo services and flight activities as the COVID-19 restrictions already eased by March 2022,” the company said.
Passenger revenues jumped by 572.5 percent to P22.481 billion from P3.343 billion it earned last year.
This was attributed to the 450.8-percent increase in passenger volume from 1.9 million to 10.4 million, as the number of flights increased 255.9 percent while seat load factor improved 18.6 percentage points from 55.8 percent to 74.4 percent.
Cargo revenues also went up by 31.7 percent to P5.615 billion from P4.264 billion last year.
The group incurred operating expenses of P48.730 billion, higher by 74.1 percent than P27.98 billion recorded last year. This was driven by the increase in group’s operations due to the eased COVID-19 restrictions, as a material portion of expenses were based on flights and flight hours.
CEB flew over 30,300 flights in the third quarter, or 318 percent more than in the same quarter last year. It ramped up its international network as it resumed flights to Sydney and Brunei.
Routes such as Cebu-Singapore and Cebu-Incheon also resumed, which signaled the restart of easier international travels for passengers in the Visayas and Mindanao.
The airline continues to expand its international footprint as it adds more flights to destinations such as Bali, Bangkok, Fukuoka, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh, Hong Kong, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and Taipei.