Clark International Airport Corp. (CIAC), which operates Clark International Airport (CRK), can now remit to the national coffers after being unable to contribute in the past few years due to negative earnings, an executive of the government-run airport operator said.
CIAC’s dividend declaration due to the national government and CIAC stockholders amounts to P76.354 million, which is equivalent to 50% of its annual net earnings.
From its total income, CIAC will remit dividends amounting to P38.177 million, or half of the 50% annual net earnings, CIAC president and chief executive officer Alexander Cauguiran said in a statement.
“CIAC’s well-crafted plan plus a results-oriented leadership amounted to millions of pesos in remittances. President Duterte’s resolve and call to shift (airline) operations from Manila to Clark has (borne) fruit as we will now be able to remit the dividends pertaining to the years 2014 and 2015,” Cauguiran added.
Under Section 3 of Republic Act No. 7656, all government-owned and controlled corporations such as CIAC must declare and remit at least 50% of their annual net earnings as cash, stock, or property dividends to the national government.
From 2014 to 2016, CIAC incurred negative retained earnings and was exempted from declaring and remitting dividends, pursuant to the revised implementing rules and regulations of RA 7656.
CIAC’s net income amounted to P45.5 million in 2014, to P29.7 million in 2015, and to P77.4 million in 2016 for a total of P152.7 million.
During these years, however, CIAC incurred negative retained earnings, otherwise known as retained earnings deficit.
CIAC said that since July 2016, the growth of airport operations and the management of CRK’s aviation complex have led to an increase in cash flow.
CRK, which currently has 134 international flights and 104 domestic flights weekly, will be increasing its frequencies. China Eastern Airlines, China’s second largest carrier by passenger numbers, will begin its Clark-Shanghai flights on October 18, while JetStar’s Clark-Singapore flights will start on November 18.
Also within the year, Philippine Airlines will add Tagbilaran, Bacolod, and Cagayan de Oro to its flights to and from Clark.
By the end of this year, CIAC projects passenger traffic to reach 1.5 million.
In addition to expanding its commercial horizons, the CRK is building a new terminal building that can take in 8 million passengers annually, scheduled to be finished by the first quarter of 2020.
Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
