Clark airport posts 60% profit increase

Clark International Airport Corp. (CIAC) posted a 60-percent increase in profit amid a significant rise in traffic in 2011, helping the government-owned corporation further improve its services.

CIAC, which operates the Clark International Airport in Pampanga, expects to sustain its profit growth this year. CIAC enjoys fiscal autonomy, which means it does not remit earnings to the government. It also does not rely on the state budget for its operational expenses.

“This year, we think our net income can grow to P600 million, or an increase of 50 percent year-on-year,” CIAC president and CEO Victor Luciano said.

Luciano said a higher profit would allow CIAC to improve the services to make air travel more convenient for passengers.

CIAC’s revenues come mainly from terminal fees collected from passengers flying out of Clark and fees from airlines that operate at the facility.

He said passengers at the airport were expected to reach about 1.5 million this year, or almost double the 765,000 passengers that passed through Clark in 2011.

He said the increase would be driven by the entry of new airlines at Clark, particularly AirAsia Inc., the local unit of Malaysian budget carrier AirAsia Berhad. Air Asia Inc. will start flying from Clark on March 28.

Initially, AirAsia will mount flights from Clark to Davao and Kalibo. The airline, a joint venture between Malaysian businessman Tony Fernandes and three Filipino shareholders, also plans to fly to Singapore, Thailand and Hong Kong.