Appetite for travel helped Cebu Pacific operator narrow losses in H1

The operator of low-cost carrier Cebu Pacific managed to trim its losses in the first half on the back of better revenues as improving mobility boosted passenger and cargo businesses.

In a regulatory filing on Thursday, Cebu Air Inc. said it incurred a net loss of P9.5 billion, narrower than the P13.79 billion in the same period a year ago.

This was supported by its total revenues growing by 250.3 percent to P20.68 billion for the period from last year’s P5.9 billion.

Passenger revenues grew more than five times to P11.66 billion with volume growing to 6.3 million from just 1.2 million previously. Average fares were up 8.8 percent to P1,855 as of end-June, boosting top line figures in this segment.

Cebu Pacific and other local airlines are currently collecting fuel surcharges to cover the cost of elevated oil prices. For this month, airlines are allowed to impose a fuel surcharge of P355 to P1,038 for domestic flights and P1,172.07 to P8,714.84 for international flights per passenger.

Likewise, revenues from the cargo segment climbed 26.8 percent to P3.57 billion in the first half from P2.82 billion a year ago. The airline flew 66 million kilograms (kg) of cargo for the period, higher than last year’s 53.8 million kg.

Operating expenses rose

Higher passenger volume and flight activity boosted ancillary revenues by 414.2 percent to P5.45 billion.

The 224.4-percent increase in the number of flights also led to operating expenses rising by 55.1 percent to P28.84 billion.

The budget carrier said its international network has begun to recover with the easing of travel requirements of Southeast Asian neighbors, including Singapore and Thailand. In the second quarter, it also resumed flights to Hanoi, Bali and Taiwan.

“Amid the risks posed by expensive jet fuel, peso depreciation and interest rate hikes, [Cebu Pacific] remains cautiously optimistic that we can turn the tide soon as domestic demand looks robust and international borders continue to reopen,” Cebu Pacific chief financial officer Mark Cezar said.