CEBU Pacific, doing business as Cebu Air Inc. (CEB), saw net income in the first three months of 2025 plunge by nearly 80 percent to P466 million from P2.20 billion in the same period last year due to financing costs related to its fleet expansion program.
The airline took delivery of 15 new aircraft and 13 spare engines over the past year to support capacity growth and operational resilience amid global supply challenges.
Cebu Pacific’s operating expenses also shot up by 25.6 percent to P28.46 billion from P22.66 billion a year earlier on higher fuel consumption and pilot headcount amid increased flight operations, while a weaker peso also impacted costs.
Revenues, however, surged 20 percent in the first quarter to P30.4 billion from P25.3 billion in the comparable period last year on sustained travel demand.
Cebu Pacific carried 7 million passengers in the period, an increase of 26 percent from the 5.5 million passengers flown a year earlier.
It noted that the higher passenger count was achieved even with the Easter holidays having been moved to April this year from March in 2024.
With more passengers carried, the airline’s passenger revenues soared 19 percent to more than P21 billion, while ancillary revenues grew 22 percent year on year to about P7 billion.
By end-March 2025, Cebu Pacific’s fleet had expanded to 99 aircraft, serving 63 destinations and 127 routes through more than 3,200 weekly flights.
The expanded network and capacity also boosted its cargo business, with cargo revenues in the quarter soaring 35 percent to roughly P1.70 billion.
With its re-fleeting and network development mostly behind it, the airline said that it was looking to continue its rapid growth this year.
Cebu Pacific CEO Michael Szucs has said that the first few months of 2025 showed that the market was already absorbing the airline’s additional capacity.
Cebu Pacific CFO Mark Cezar said, “Overall, we remain optimistic on our financial outlook.”
“Underlying demand for affordable air travel remains strong, and we’ve made earlier strategic investments to ensure resilient operations,” he added.
Leveraging on these existing assets, Cebu Pacific remains well-positioned for sustainable growth and improving profitability.”
Cebu Air shares on Friday slipped by P0.40, or 1.14 percent, to close at P34.65 each while the benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index finished up by 1.08 percent.