Cebu Pacific profit dips by 29%

The first-semester profit of budget airline Cebu Pacific slipped by nearly a third amid rising expenses due to the company’s aggressive expansion and higher fuel prices.

In a disclosure, Cebu Pacific said it had ended the first half with a bottom line of P1.736 billion, down by 28.9 percent from P2.44 billion a year ago.

Its revenues grew by 17.9 percent to P19.73 billion in the first half, mainly from ticket sales, which grew by 12.9 percent to P15.65 billion.

The airline reported a 17.2-percent increase in passenger volume to 6.9 million in January to June.

Ancillary services—such as provision of in-flight meals and extra baggage allocation to passengers—contributed P2.95 billion to the airline’s revenues in the first half. This was 55.1 percent higher than year-ago level.

The number of flights rose by 18.1 percent year on year as a result of the additional aircraft in its fleet to 38 aircraft as of June 30, 2012, from 33 a year ago.

The increase in the airline’s revenues, however, was partially offset by the 3.7-percent reduction in average fares to P2,257 from P2,343 last year.