Philippine Airlines (PAL) posted a wider net loss in the first quarter of 2018 to P799.691 million from P750.791 million in the same period last year due to higher expenses.
Total comprehensive loss, however, was 62.2% lower to P201.67 million from P533.97 million in the same period last year, the airline said in a regulatory disclosure.
Revenues for the period went up 12.7% to P36.79 billion from P32.65 billion last year, the increase attributable mainly to higher passenger revenues brought about by the growth in the number of passengers carried and number of flights operated.
Revenues from passenger services grew 14% to P32.043 billion from P32.043 billion while revenues from its cargo service rose 24.9% to P2.256 billion from P1.807 billion.
Ancillary services, on the other hand, slid 9.7% in revenue with P2.431 billion from P2.693 billion in the previous year. Revenues from other services also dipped 47% to P59.765 million from P113.289 million.
Total expenses for the first quarter of 2018 increased 13.9% to P36.90 billion from P32.39 billion in the same period last year, primarily due to higher expenses related to flying operations, passenger service, aircraft and traffic servicing, reservations and sales, and general and administrative accounts. This was offset in part by the decrease in maintenance expenses. General and administrative expenses grew 8.8% mainly due to the increase in professional and technical fees.
PAL this year is further boosting its operations at its hubs in Davao, Cebu, and Clark with the scheduled arrival of 15 new aircraft in 2018, and another six aircraft in 2019.
With a current fleet of more than 80 aircraft, the carrier plans to boost this to 100 aircraft by 2020 as it aims to become a major carrier, and intends to continue fleet build-up until 2024 in order to achieve a five-star rating.
