MacroAsia keen on expanding food business

MANILA, Philippines — Aviation support service provider MacroAsia Corp. plans to expand its food segment outside Luzon to cater to the growing demand from both airline and non-airline customers.

Based on its financial report, MacroAsia is working on the expansion of MacroAsia SATS Food Industries Corp., its food commissary operating in Sucat, Muntinlupa City.

The company is eyeing to reach customers outside Luzon as part of its strategy to bring in new revenue sources by going beyond aviation customers.

“Plans are now being considered to expand the geographical presence of the food group outside of Luzon and expand the capacity of the current commissary in Muntinlupa City. As of the (first quarter of 2024), detailed studies are underway to expand the current facility,” MacroAsia said.

MacroAsia’s bread and butter remains its in-flight catering and food services, but the company has secured new customers for its food group and is keen on landing additional accounts from non-aviation clients.

With the expansion, the Lucio Tan-led company pushed up its profit by 72 percent to P259.91 million in the first quarter, from P151.08 million a year ago.

Revenue jumped by 23 percent to P2.22 billion, offsetting the 21 percent rise in expenses to P1.67 billion.

MacroAsia sourced nearly half of its revenue from in-flight catering and food services at P1.06 billion, raking in P975.58 million from ground handling.

Food revenues went up on the increase in meals served to 5.6 million in the first quarter, from 5.5 million a year ago. Moreover, the company’s ground handling managed a total of 49,281 flights, gaining from the resurgence in flight demand in the aftermath of the pandemic.

Further, MacroAsia received P154.09 million in revenue from its water business. The company improved its sales from water services in Boracay as a result of tourism boom in the island.

However, the company expects a slowdown in the connectivity segment given the timeline change for a service contract secured by Tera, its technology subsidiary.

As announced at the end of 2023, MacroAsia plans to expand the business outside of aviation to reap growth opportunities in non-airport industries, such as in water distribution and connectivity services.