AIRPORT earnings of the Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA) declined by 10 percent in the first three months of the year on the back of the travel restrictions caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
MCIA logged P803 million in revenue from January to March this year, down 10 percent as total passenger volume fell by 21 percent to 2.4 million, listed company Megawide Construction Corp. (Megawide) told the local bourse Friday, May 29, 2020.
Domestic traffic at MCIA declined by 16 percent to 1.7 million passengers while a 29 percent drop was recorded for international arrivals to 742,000.
Megawide is one of the companies that privately manage the MCIA.
The firm said MCIA’s operations sustained its strong momentum in 2019 as revenue grew 23 percent to P3.7 billion. The performance was driven largely by the 10 percent growth in total passenger volume to 12.7 million passengers, with both international and domestic segments improving by 11 percent and nine percent, respectively.
Total air traffic volume, likewise increased by six percent, with international volume increasing by 12 percent and domestic traffic rising by four percent.
“We are building on the strong performance of all our segments for the full year of 2019 and the first quarter of this year,” said Edgar Saavedra, Megawide chairman and chief executive officer.
“Moving forward, while we anticipate challenges created by the Covid-19 pandemic, we are also primed to take advantage of the new opportunities it has created,” he said.
Focused marketing initiatives in 2019 resulted in increased passenger and air traffic volumes with new airlines, routes and additional frequencies.
Thirteen new international destinations were opened in 2019, namely China Southern’s Guangzhou, Juneyao Airlines’ Shanghai, Philippine AirAsia’s-Macau, Kaohsiung and Taipei; Philippine Airline PR’s Nagoya, Cebu Pacific Air’s Shanghai, Cathay Pacific’s Hong Kong, Xiamen Air’s Chengdu and Quanzhou; Silkair’s Singapore, Jeju Air’s Daegu and Air Busan’s Incheon.
Meanwhile, six new domestic destinations were added in the same year, namely Royal Air Philippines’ Manila, Davao, Puerto Princesa, Cagayan and Boracay; and Cebu Pacific’s Busuanga.
Megawide’s consolidated revenues in 2019 stood at P19.8 billion, based on unaudited financial results, which was 24 percent higher than the previous year, with strong recovery by the construction business, continued momentum of the airport operations and positive traction from landport operations. (KOC)