Cebu Air, operator of budget airline Cebu Pacific, sank deeper into the red as its losses widened to P21.99 billion from January to September, about a quarter higher year-on-year.

In a regulatory filing on Tuesday, November 9, Cebu Air said the budget carrier logged P9.15 billion in revenues for the first nine months of 2021 – a 52.7% decline from the same period in 2020.

The cargo segment continued to grow, posting a 20% increase to P4.26 billion, while ancillary revenues were up 60.5% to P1.53 billion.

The air transport business continued to limp, however, as cases fueled by the COVID-19 Delta variant surged during the third quarter. Proceeds from the passenger segment grew by P167 million to P1.3 billion, but growth in the third quarter was 34% lower than April to June figures.

For the first nine months, Cebu Air’s passenger revenues declined 71.9% to P3.34 billion, compared to the P11.89 billion a year ago.

The number of Cebu Pacific passengers shrank by more than half to 1.9 million year-on-year. Cebu Air also said fares were 30.4% lower to P1,764 from P2,537 in the same period in 2020.

Operating expenses, meanwhile, reached P27.989 billion, 15.3% lower mainly due to reduced operations.

In its financial statement, Cebu Air said it “anticipates” the coronavirus pandemic to have further impact on net sales, revenue, income from operations, and future performance.

Cebu Air shares were up 2.79% to P49.75 apiece on Tuesday. – Rappler.com