Copa Holdings Reports Net Income of US$113.8 Million and EPS of US$2.56 for the First Quarter of 2013

PANAMA CITY, May 13, 2013 /PRNewswire/ — Copa Holdings, S.A. (NYSE: CPA), today announced financial results for the first quarter of 2013(1Q13). The terms “Copa Holdings” or “the Company” refer to the consolidated entity. The following financial information, unless otherwise indicated, is presented in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). See the accompanying reconciliation of non-IFRS financial information to IFRS financial information included in financial tables section of this earnings release. Unless otherwise stated, all comparisons with prior periods refer to the first quarter of 2012 (1Q12).

OPERATING AND FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

Copa Holdings reported net income of US$113.8 million for 1Q13, or diluted earnings per share (EPS) of US$2.56. Excluding special items, Copa Holdings would have reported an adjusted net income of $124.4 million, or $2.80 per share, a 37.3% increase over adjusted net income of US$90.6 million and US$2.04 per share for 1Q12.
Operating income for 1Q13 came in at US$142.6 million, a 27.9% increase over operating income of US$111.6 million in 1Q12. Operating margin for the period came in at 22.2%, compared to 20.5% in 1Q12, as a result of lower unit costs.
Total revenues increased 18.0% to US$641.3 million. Yield per passenger mile decreased 0.8% to 17.6 cents and operating revenue per available seat mile (RASM) decreased 1.5% to 14.0 cents. However, adjusting for a 6.3% increase in length of haul, yields and RASM increased 2.2% and 1.5%, respectively.
For 1Q13, robust demand trends resulted in passenger traffic (RPMs) growth of 19.5% on a 19.9% capacity expansion. Consolidated load factor came in at 76.9%, or 0.3 percentage points below 1Q12.
Operating cost per available seat mile (CASM) decreased 3.6%, from 11.3 cents in 1Q12 to 10.9 cents in 1Q13. CASM, excluding fuel, decreased 4.7% to 6.5 cents.
Cash, short term and long term investments ended 1Q13 at US$733.4 million, representing 31.2% of the last twelve months’ revenues.
During the first quarter, Copa Airlines took delivery of two Boeing 737-800 aircraft. As a result, Copa Holdings ended the quarter with a consolidated fleet of 85 aircraft.
For 1Q13, Copa Holdings reported consolidated on-time performance of 90.0% and a flight-completion factor of 99.7%, maintaining its position among the best in the industry.