CEBU Air, Inc., the listed operator of budget carrier Cebu Pacific, announced on Thursday that it narrowed its net loss for the second quarter of the year to P1.89 billion from a loss of P6.49 billion previously.
The company saw its revenues for the period jump 336.6% to P13.97 billion from P3.2 billion in the second quarter of 2021, its second-quarter financial performance results showed.
“During the second quarter of 2022, most parts of the country remained to be classified under the more relaxed alert level classification,” Cebu Air said.
“As a result, the group restored almost the same level of its pre-pandemic system-wide capacity following the continuous ramp-up of its domestic and international routes,” it added.
Expenses for the second quarter increased 85.3% to P16.79 billion from P9.06 billion previously.
For the first half of the year, Cebu Air’s net loss amounted to P9.5 billion, 31.1% lower than the P13.79-billion net loss sustained for the six months ended on June 30, 2021.
Cebu Air’s revenues for the first six months reached P20.682 billion, 250.3% higher than the P5.9-billion revenues generated in the same period in 2021.
“The overall increase in revenues was primarily driven by significant increase in passenger volume, cargo services and flight activities as the COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) restrictions already eased by March 2022,” the company said.
Cebu Air expects that the level of demand will increase further for airline services not just within the Philippines but even abroad.
“The positive development has not only allowed the group to carry more passengers, but also boosted the group’s cargo services,” it said.
Cebu Air’s passenger revenues went up 474.5% to P11.67 billion for the first six months from P2.03 billion earned in the six months last year.
Meanwhile, cargo revenues grew 26.8% to P3.57 billion for the period from P2.815 billion for the six months of 2021.
It incurred operating expenses of P28.84 billion for the first half, higher by 55.1% compared with the P18.59-billion operating expenses recorded previously.
Cebu Air shares closed 5.12% higher at P45.20 apiece on Thursday. — Arjay L. Balinbin
