Merkado Barkada
November 27, 2024 | 8:10am
Philippine Airlines [PAL 5.00, up 0.2%; 62% avgVol] [link] put out a clarification to retcon Stanley Ng’s statement that PAL’s FY24 financial performance “[d]efinitely will be lower than last year.” In the clarification, PAL said Mr. Ng’s remark “reflects the context of PAL’s recently disclosed operational results”, and the general trend that “travels have normalized since last year”. PAL continued to characterize Mr. Ng’s statement as a “cautious statement indicating a reasonable expectation that the company may not replicate the financial results achieved in the previous quarter.” PAL reported a FY23 net income of P21 billion, but has only managed to book P8 billion in profit through the first nine months of FY24.
MB bottom-line: The Big Lebowski is one of my favorite movies of all time, and this little press release is so Brandt-coded that it actually caused me to (1) laugh, (2) search up some great Big Lebowski scenes including the one with Brandt and Bunny that I’m referencing here, and (3) think about drinking a nice cool White Russian at two in the afternoon. For the record, I am casting Mr. Ng as Bunny in the scene (I won’t link it because it’s marginally spicy), but only because it’s his authentic and relatable statement that caused the PAL Brandt behemoth to lurch into its awkward laugh action. PAL’s trying to put lipstick on a pig. While I’m not a PAL shareholder, I’d be relieved to have Mr. Ng at the helm since it appears as though he’s able to see it for what it is and that’s crucial if the airline hopes to keep on flying as it has.
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