Cebu Air Inc., the operator of Gokongwei-led budget carrier Cebu Pacific, saw its earnings decline as fleet expansion costs dragged its bottom line despite posting record revenues in the first quarter of 2025.
In a filing to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Friday, Cebu Air reported a net income of P466 million in the January to March period, a dramatic decline from P2.2 billion in earnings in the same period last year.
The decline came following the airline’s fleet and network expansion initiative as it ended the first quarter with a fleet of 99 aircraft, serving 63 destinations and 127 routes, with over 3,200 weekly flights.
The airline said it accepted 15 aircraft deliveries and 13 spare engines over the past twelve months to support capacity growth and operational resilience amid global supply challenges.
This resulted in additional fleet and financing costs in the first quarter of 2025, it said.
Despite the bottom line decline, Cebu Air posted a record revenue of P30.4 billion, up 20% year-on-year on the back of increased passenger traffic.
The budget carrier said it had flown seven million passengers during the period, up 26% “despite the shift in Easter holidays to April this year from March in 2024.”
The increase in passenger traffic resulted in a 19% growth in passenger revenue to over P21 billion, up 22%.
Likewise, cargo revenues rose 35% to P1.7 billion on the back of 51.6 million kilograms of cargo transported.
“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. Leveraging on these existing assets, CEB remains well positioned for sustainable growth, and improving profitability,” said Mark Cezar, chief financial officer at Cebu Pacific.
—VAL, GMA Integrated News
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Fleet expansion costs slashes Cebu Pacific’s Q1 profit
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