BUDGET carrier Cebu Pacific swung to a P12.78-billion net loss in the first nine months of the year from a P9.47-billion profit in the same period in 2025, as higher fuel costs and foreign exchange losses outweighed revenue gains.
In a disclosure on Thursday, the airline reported a third-quarter net loss of P6.91 billion, reversing a P499.02-million profit a year earlier.
Quarterly revenues rose to P27.66 billion from P24.27 billion.
For the nine-month period, consolidated revenues grew 9.8 percent to P96.22 billion. Higher passenger volume lifted passenger revenues by 9.5 percent to P65.31 billion, while cargo revenues expanded 12.6 percent to P5.84 billion and ancillary revenues increased 10.2 percent to P25.07 billion.
Operating expenses climbed 24.3 percent to P99.23 billion. The airline reported an operating loss of P3.3 billion, reversing a P7.79-billion operating profit a year earlier.
Fuel expenses jumped 62.4 percent to P39.1 billion, pushing flying operations expenses up 51.6 percent to P44.13 billion. The airline attributed the jump in jet fuel prices to disruptions following the Feb. 28 escalation of the war in the Middle East.
Foreign exchange losses quadrupled to P5.03 billion as the peso weakened against the US dollar, Japanese yen and Singapore dollar. Financing costs and other charges totaled P6.05 billion.
“The third quarter remained a challenging period, as elevated fuel prices, a weaker peso, and broader macroeconomic pressures continued to affect our operations,” Cebu Pacific CEO Michael Szucs said.
But he added that the airline was encouraged by a return to passenger growth. Cebu Pacific said bookings for the holiday season and Q1 of 2027 remained healthy, while improving yields bolstered its revenue outlook.
Looking ahead to 2027, the company said forward bookings for the holiday season and ongoing improvement in yields provides greater confidence in its revenue outlook for Q4 this year and beyond.
