MANILA, Philippines - Flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) still expects to post some profits in the first three months of the year despite rising fuel prices and the recent earthquake/tsunami in Japan.
PAL president and chief operating officer Jaime Bautista said the airline may have to review its initial targets for both volume and yields as Tokyo, one of PAL’s most popular destinations, is greatly impacted by the 8.9 magnitude earthquake off the coast of Japan last week.
“It should be a very positive outlook. But because of all these problems, we have to review all of our projections,” Bautista said on the sidelines of PAL’s 70th anniversary celebration on Tuesday.
He said the original projection for the airline’s growth in terms of volume is around 10 percent, especially in Japan where traffic is expected to reach 600,000 this year from 530,000 in 2010.
“If there will be an immediate rehabilitation, it can also mean more passengers especially Fili-pinos working in Japan,” Bautista added.
PAL chief financial officer Jose Olives said in a separate interview that for the fourth quarter of its fiscal year ending March, the airline expects some profits from the 10- to 15-percent growth in volume experienced in January and February.
“Normally, the fourth quarter is a good quarter. I think we will still make some profits but it would not be what we were expecting,” Olives said, adding that financial performance for the period will be better than a year ago.
He said PAL’s revenue target for the entire fiscal year is $1.6 billion, up from $1.36 billion the previous year. The growth, Olives said, will be driven by higher traffic in both its international and domestic operations.
PAL reported a modest profit of $15.1 million in the third quarter (October to December 2010) of its current 2010-2011 financial year – a period when air travel gingerly recovered from a slump the previous year.