Hungry travelers deliver revenues for MacroAsia
The listed aviation services company of taipan Lucio Tan saw earnings increase in 2018 as its various businesses benefited from the consistent strong demand for air travel.
MacroAsia Corp. disclosed to the Philippine Stock Exchange that net income for the year hit P1.08 billion, up 2 percent from 2017.
In-flight catering was a major driver of revenues, which hit a total of P3.6 billion or a gain of about 24 percent.
The catering business alone, which accounted for 46 percent of all sales, posted revenues of P1.66 billion against P1.54 billion the previous year.
“This is brought about by an increase in the number of meals served to airline clients,” MacroAsia said, noting that it served a total of 3.6 million in-flight meals last year.
Ground handling is another major revenue source. MacroAsia said revenues here increased to P1.46 billion in 2018 from P1.03 billion the previous year. This was partly due to the increased flights by main customer and affiliate Philippine Airlines, it added.
MacroAsia also booked higher earnings from Lufthansa Technik Philippines (LTP), its aircraft maintenance venture with Germany’s Lufthansa Group. Profits from this venture hit P2.06 billion, of which MacroAsia’s share amounted to P1.01 billion. This was higher than its share of P928.4 million in 2017.
Total costs for the year reached P2.77 billion, up 29 percent. MacroAsia said this was due to higher labor costs as it sought to keep up with the increasing volume of business and as it prepared to start ground handling services at the Mactan Cebu International Airport.
LTP is expected to continue to see healthy business serving its airline clients, including “core” customer Philippine Airlines, which has been expanding its fleet.
“Continuous growth shall also be driven by new business opportunities in the catering and ground handling business units that will include passenger lounge servicing and expansion in other secondary airports outside our current locations,” MacroAsia said. —MIGUEL R. CAMUS
