MANILA – Cebu Pacific (CEB), a popular budget airline in the Philippines, had a fantastic start to the year. In the first three months of the year, the airline flew 7 million passengers and earned a total of PHP 30.4 billion. This is a big improvement from last year, with a growth of 20 percent in their earnings compared to the same period last year.
In a statement shared on Friday, the airline said that the main reason for the boost in revenue was because more people flew with them. Compared to last year, there was a 26 percent increase in the number of passengers who flew with Cebu Pacific.
This growth helped the airline earn over PHP 21 billion from ticket sales, which was a 19 percent increase. They also made more than PHP 7 billion from additional services like baggage fees and in-flight purchases, which grew by 22 percent.
By the end of the first quarter, Cebu Pacific had 99 airplanes and was flying to 63 different destinations, including many places in the Philippines and other countries.
Mark Cezar, Cebu Pacific’s Chief Financial Officer, said, “We remain optimistic about our financial outlook. The demand for affordable air travel is still strong, and we’ve made smart investments in our airline to make sure it can keep running smoothly. With the assets we already have, Cebu Pacific is in a good position to keep growing and making more profit.”
Despite the airline growing its fleet (more planes) and expanding its operations (flying to more places), they had to spend more money, which is normal when a business grows. However, Cebu Pacific still managed to make an Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization (EBITDA) of PHP 6.7 billion, which is a little more than last year. This means the airline made a good amount of money before certain expenses were taken into account, and their EBITDA margin (how much profit they made compared to their revenue) was 22 percent.
The airline also earned PHP 1.96 billion in operating income, which led to a net income (profit after all expenses) of PHP 466 million.
Overall, Cebu Pacific is doing well and continues to grow, providing affordable flights to millions of people.
