Low-cost carrier Cebu Pacific Air and wholly owned subsidiary Cebgo posted a 99.6% increase in net income for the first nine months of 2016 owing to positive performances by its passage, cargo, and ancillary businesses.
In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, Cebu Pacific said net income for the nine-month period rose to P7.098 billion from P3.556 billion earned in the same period last year.
For the third quarter of 2016 alone, the airlines reduced their net loss to P583.647 million from P1.645 billion in the same period last year.
The group generated revenues of P46.691 billion, 10.5% higher than the P42.259 billion revenues earned in the same period last year.
Revenues from passage grew 10.1% to P35.356 billion from P32.126 billion posted last year. Growth was mainly attributed to the 6% increase in passenger volume to 14.477 million from 13.652 million in 2015 due to a 0.4% increase in seat capacity in 2016 and overall improvement in seat load factor year-on-year.
The steady growth, Cebu Pacific added, resulted from the increase in the group’s fleet from 55 to 56 aircraft as of September 30. The increase in average fares by 3.8% also supported revenue improvement.
Higher cargo volumes transported during the first nine months of 2016 triggered a 2.5% jump in cargo revenues to P2.549 billion from P2.488 billion in the first nine months of 2015.
Ancillary revenues likewise went up 14.9% to P8.786 billion from P7.645 billion registered last year, stemming from a 6% increase in passenger traffic and 8.4% increase in average ancillary revenue per passenger. Improved online bookings, together with a wider range of ancillary revenue products and services, also contributed to the increase.
Meanwhile, Cebu Pacific has recently opened its regional office in Seoul, South Korea as part of its regional promotion and expansion work. The Korean branch office will provide tickets sales, reservations, cargo services, and customer support.
Cebu Pacific chief executive adviser Michael Szucs said the airline “continuously looks for opportunities to expand services and target markets in the most convenient way.”
Currently, the airline operates daily to and from Incheon-Manila/Kalibo/Cebu, and twice weekly to and from Busan-Manila utilizing 180-seater Airbus A320 aircraft. Cebu Pacific flew over 250,000 passengers between the Philippines and Korea from January to September 2016. Passengers from Korea can use Cebu Pacific’s network to visit popular Philippine destinations such as Boracay, Coron, Davao, and Puerto Princesa via flight connections through Manila.
At the same time, Cebu Pacific is preparing to launch three new domestic routes out of Cebu to meet increasing inter-island travel demand in the Visayas region. Beginning November 19, 2016, the airline will be operating daily flights between Cebu and Ormoc (Leyte) and Cebu and Roxas (Capiz); and four flights weekly between Cebu and Calbayog (Samar).
The airline currently offers flights to 36 domestic and 30 international destinations, operating an extensive network across Asia, Australia, the Middle East, and USA with a fleet of 57 aircraft.
