Cebu Pacific Net Loss Was at P24.9 Billion Last Year, But Recovery Seen in 2022

The country’s biggest budget carrier continued to bleed from the effects of the pandemic, but it sees a rebound in the travel market by the second quarter of this year. Cebu Air Inc., the operator of budget carrier Cebu Pacific, reported P15.7 billion in revenues in 2021, which is 30 percent lower than the year before. Net loss was at P24.9 billion. 

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, Cebu Pacific said it flew 3.41 million passengers last year, a 32-percent decline partly due to the higher volumes recorded during the first quarter in 2020.  For comparison, the airline flew close to 4.4 million passengers on about 30,000 flights in the first quarter of 2020, before the onset of the air travel lockdown. 

The company said it cushioned the effects of the decline in revenues by lowering its total operating expenses by 10 percent to P38.9 billion, while also beefing up its cargo operations, which posted a 20-percent increase to P6.5 billion.  

“Amidst the losses and uncertainty brought about by the pandemic, CEB stayed resilient and ensured its long-term sustainability,” the company said. “Aside from its cost-saving initiatives, it successfully raised over $1.6 billion from various fund-raising initiatives. This not only allowed for an even longer liquidity runway but also resulted to a stronger balance sheet with cash balance of P19.6 billion, surpassing even the pre-pandemic cash levels.” 

Cebu Air said it is encouraged by strong domestic demand becoming apparent, with bookings steeply increasing over the past few months.

“With this, CEB anticipates recovery to its pre-covid domestic capacity levels by 2nd quarter of 2022,” it said.