MacroAsia sees higher costs of services in privatized NAIA

MANILA, Philippines — Aviation support service provider MacroAsia Corp. expects business costs at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) to go up under private control, but is willing to shoulder these price hikes as long as the gateway is improved.

According to its financial report, Tan-owned MacroAsia raised its profit by 91 percent to P851.14 million in 2023, from P446.1 million in 2022, recording growth across all business segments.

Revenue went up by nearly two thirds to P8 billion, buoyed mainly by the income contributions of in-flight catering and ground handling.

MacroAsia sourced the bulk of its earnings from in-flight catering (P3.98 billion) and ground handling (P3.14 billion). Further, the company obtained contributions from its other subsidiaries, particularly water distribution (P617.49 million) and connectivity services (P215.63 million).

MacroAsia said its meal count grew by more than half to 22.78 million, as passengers hopped on trips to complete the plans they missed out during the pandemic.

The company also registered a 36 percent increase in the number of flights it served to 182,303.

As the business picks up pace, MacroAsia also saw its expenses bloat by more than half to P6.25 billion in 2023, from P3.97 billion in 2022.

For 2024, MacroAsia believes the privatization of NAIA will bring in two things: first, improve the flight activities of the gateway and second, raise the cost of doing business.

“While the costs of doing business in the airport may go up under a new management setup, such costs are often passed on to clients based on open-book pricing practices in key business units,” MacroAsia said.

Last month, the Department of Transportation signed the P170.6-billion concession to operate and maintain NAIA with the New NAIA Infrastructure Corp. led by San Miguel Corp. The airport is set to be turned over to the concessionaire on or before Sept. 11.

MacroAsia plans to keep investing in its core units of in-flight catering and ground handling.

The company expects the demand for air travel to sustain its upward story, and this will result in new requirements for aviation support services.

Meanwhile, MacroAsia may stick its head outside of aviation to look into growth opportunities in non-airport industries like water distribution and connectivity services.

“With more stable cash flow generation from its subsidiaries, MacroAsia aims to expand further in its current business units and invest in new businesses,” it said.