PAL Holdings Inc., the operators of legacy carrier Philippine Airlines, managed to trim down losses by more than a third in 2018 as the increase in its revenues cushioned the impact of another spike in its expenses.
Based on a filing to the stock exchange, the company booked a net loss of P2.8 billion in 2018, a 38.3-percent decline compared to its total comprehensive loss of P4.6 billion in 2017.
Its revenues—buoyed by increases in ticket sales, cargo and ancillary earnings—stood at P150.4 billion, a 16.2-percent increase from last year’s P129.5 billion. This growth in earnings cushioned the impact of a 17.8-percent increase in expenses to P155.7 billion in 2018, mainly due to increases in fuel cost and lease charges.
Fuel alone accounted for P52.3 billion, as jet fuel prices rose from an average price of $75.59 per barrel in 2017 to $94.38 per barrel in 2018.
Currently, PAL flies to 43 international and 35 domestic destinations. It has a fleet of 98 planes, consisting of five Airbus A350-900 XWB, 10 Boeing 777-300ER, two Airbus A340-313, 15 Airbus A330-343, 24 Airbus A321-231, six Airbus A321-271neo, seven Airbus A320-214, 12 Airbus A320-214, three Bombardier Q400, 10 Bombardier Q400 NG and four Bombardier Q300.