Philippine Airlines Inc. said Friday it returned to profitability in the first quarter on the back of higher passenger and cargo revenues.
The country’s flag carrier posted a net income of P1.2 billion from January to March, rebounding from a P8.5-billion net loss it incurred in the same period last year.
The last time that PAL registered positive first-quarter results was in 2016.
PAL generated P24 billion in revenues from a 201-percent growth in passenger revenues and a 72-percent increase in cargo revenues in the first quarter.
The uptick in revenues reflected a stronger recovery in travel volumes as borders reopened in the Philippines and other key markets in Asia, Australia, and North America. The cargo sector also sustained its strong performance.
PAL incurred operating expenses of P22.3 billion, up by 50 percent from the same period last year.
The company attributed the higher expenses to the significant rise in fuel prices along with the increase in the number of operated flights.
“We welcome the financial turnaround demonstrated by the positive operating results for the first quarter of 2022,” said PAL president and chief operating officer Captain Stanley Ng.
“Just the same, we must not lose sight of the considerable headwinds we continue to face, brought about by rising fuel prices, the economic fallout from geopolitical events such as the conflict in Ukraine, and the incomplete recovery in travel markets, as certain Asian regions have yet to fully open their borders. To protect the gains we’ve made so far, we must be resolute in exercising fiscal discipline and faithfully carrying out our restructuring initiatives,” Ng said.
PAL reported a comprehensive income of $1.22 billion in 2021, which reflected the impact of a successful Chapter 11 financial restructuring process that involved a series of breakthrough agreements with major aircraft creditors, bank creditors, original equipment manufacturers, and vendors that demonstrated stakeholders’ confidence in the long-term prospects of PAL.
Buoyed by $505-million in fresh capital from its shareholder family, PAL is embarking on a major network re-expansion to restore more flights and routes as the Philippines and other countries ease travel restrictions and allow for the continued comeback of leisure and business travel.
PAL expects to return to pre-pandemic levels in its domestic network within the second or third quarter of 2022, while continually adding flights on key international routes to the U.S., Canada, and parts of the Middle East and Asia.
The flag carrier is the only airline operating nonstop flights between the Philippines and both the U.S. and Canada and has the largest network of multiple flights to Japan and Australia.
