MANILA, Philippines - Gokongwei-owned Cebu Pacific (CEB) is projecting its revenues this year to grow by as much as 23 percent to P24 billion from last year’s P19.4 billion on expectations of a better operating environment and increased demand.

In terms of the bottom line, CEB president Lance Gokongwei said they are hopeful they will post a profit this year. He said they would have made a profit last year if not for foreign exchange losses and hedges. “We expect a loss in 2008 but we are hopeful of a positive income this year,” he said.

Partly because of last year’s loss and partly due to the prevailing gloom in the economic and financial environment, he said plans for an initial public offering (IPO) for CEB will have to take a back seat.

But Gokongwei said he expects the number of passengers this year to increase to 9.3 million from 6.75 million last year as the company takes delivery of six new planes, and expands its route network in the country and in Asia.

In 2008, the airline company flew 6.75 million passengers, a slight deviation from an earlier target of seven million, but a 23-percent growth from the 5.49 million passengers flown in 2007. Of the 6.75 million, around 5.37 million were domestic passengers (a 20-percent growth from the 2007 figure) and 1.38 million were international passengers (33 percent more than that in 2007).

Gokongwei said this growth can be attributed to the increase in their seat capacity coupled with their trademark low fares. “We were able to successfully convince more Filipinos to travel by air despite economic uncertainties. 2008 challenged us to look for ways to stimulate travel and sustain our domestic and international operations,” he added.

He also revealed that this year, the company’s capital expenditures will be between $60 million to $70 million, with CEB acquiring four ATR planes in 2009. Two Airbus planes are being leased this year, both of which have already arrived. In 2008, the company spent over $200 million for the acquisition of new planes.

Thus, CEB will end 2009 with a fleet of 31 planes, of which 10 are A319s, 11 A320s and 10 ATR 72-500. In 2008, CEB had a fleet of 25 planes.

Between 2010 and 2012, Gokongwei said CEB will be acquiring 10 more Airbus 320s, and beyond 2012, there is an option to acquire 10 more. Each Airbus plane has a list price of $70 million, which means that between 2010 and 2012 alone, CEB will be spending at least $700 million for fleet upgrading and expansion.

CEB also announced that it retained its position as the country’s leading domestic airline with a 45.6-percent market share in 2008, up by 2.6 percentage points from the previous year’s 42.9 percent, combined Civil Aeronautics Board and CAAP data showed.

“We took delivery of 10 brand new aircraft in 2008 which we used to fly to new destinations, add frequencies to existing routes, and open operational hubs in Clark and Davao. We will continue our expansion as we take delivery of six more aircraft this year,” CEB vice president for marketing and distribution Candice Iyog said.