LOW-COST Philippine carrier Cebu Pacific posted cargo revenues of P570.5 million for the first quarter of this year, 3.5% higher than the P551.15 million in the same period last year, following increases in cargo volume and average freight charges.
The airline said growth in the carrier’s passenger, cargo and ancillary revenues lifted its revenue to P10.54 billion for the first quarter, from P9.34 billion it posted for the same period in 2012.
Operating income more than tripled to P1.319 billion from P420.12 million in the same period last year while net income rose 20.2% to P1.157 billion from the P962.40 million.
Passenger revenue grew 13.6% year-on-year to P976.45 million from P8.169 billion, due to the increase in average fare to P2,312 from P2,134 that was backed up by an increase in passenger volume. The carrier served 3.5 million passengers in the first quarter, 4.9% higher than the 3.4 million last year, driven by an increase in its fleet from 40 in 2012 to 43 this year.
Ancillary revenue went up 12.9% to P1.8 billion from last year’s P1.598 billion. Since the company started unbundling ancillary products and services in 2011, there had been notable improvements in revenue.
Meanwhile Cebu Air Inc., the listed holding firm of Cebu Pacific, meanwhile, is seeking tax holidays from the Board of Investments (BOI) for the purchase of two aircraft that will enable it to offer low fares to more routes in the Visayas and Mindanao.
In a published notice, the BOI said Cebu Air had applied for registration for pioneer status, which would make it eligible for a six-year tax holiday. The company is applying as a new operator of air transport services for two Airbus A320s.
One of the A320s is set to operate the Manila-Davao-Manila (seven times weekly), Manila-Cagayan de Oro-Manila (seven times weekly), and Cebu-Davao-Cebu (seven times weekly) routes.
The other A320 is set to ply the Manila-Davao-Manila (seven times weekly), Manila-Cebu-Manila (seven times weekly), Cebu-Puerto Princesa-Cebu (seven times weekly), Cebu-Davao-Cebu (seven times weekly), Cebu-Bacolod-Cebu (four times weekly), Cebu-Tacloban-Cebu (three times weekly), Cebu-Gensan-Cebu (four times weekly) and Cebu-Pagadian-Cebu (three times weekly) routes.
Cebu Pacific is continuing to expand its fleet, buying 17 new Airbus A320 aircraft scheduled for delivery between July 2013 and 2017, and 30 A321 NEO planes that will be delivered from 2017 to 2021. Delivery of the two A320s will be in July.
“With the support of government incentives such as income tax holiday, this will allow CEB to be a true low-cost carrier, enabling the company to aggressively stimulate passenger traffic growth with its low fares,” the airline said.
Photo from www.cebupacificair.com
