Cebu Pacific sets 2017 capex to P24 B

MANILA, Philippines - Budget carrier Cebu Pacific and its subsidiary Cebgo are alloting P24 billion for capital expenditures this year to increase the group’s fleet.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange yesterday, Cebu Air Inc., the operator of Cebu Pacific, said the capital expenditures budget of the group this year has been set at P24 billion.

“This will be used for fleet expansion of Cebu Pacific and Cebgo Inc.,” Cebu Air said.

At present, the Cebu Pacific group operates a fleet of 59 aircraft composed of four Airbus A319s, 36 Airbus A320s, seven Airbus A330s, eight ATR 72-500 aircraft and four ATR 72-600.

The group expects to receive a brand new Airbus A330, 32 Airbus A321neos and 12 ATR 72-600 aircraft from now until 2021.

The group currently flies from the following hubs in the country: Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminals 3 and 4; Mactan-Cebu International Airport; Diosdado Macapagal International Airport in Clark, Pampanga; Davao International Airport; Iloilo International Airport; and Kalibo International Airport.

As of the first quarter, the Cebu Pacific group’s network covered 62 domestic routes and 41 international routes with a total of 2,870 scheduled weekly flights.

Net earnings of Cebu Air reached P1.28 billion in the first three months of the year, down from P4.04 billion in the same period last year as its expenses grew.

As of the first quarter of this year, the group’s passenger volume reached a total of 4.813 million, 0.5 percent lower than the 4.836 million in the same period last year.

For the month of March alone, the group carried a total of 1.639 million passengers this year, down slightly from 1.643 million passengers in the same month last year.