Copa Holdings Reports Net Income of US$111.9 Million and EPS of US$2.52 for the Third Quarter of 2012

PANAMA CITY, Nov. 7, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — Copa Holdings, S.A. (NYSE: CPA), today announced financial results for the third quarter of 2012 (3Q12). 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 third quarter of 2011 (3Q11).

OPERATING AND FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

Copa Holdings reported net income of US$111.9 million for 3Q12, or diluted earnings per share (EPS) of US$2.52. Excluding special items, Copa Holdings would have reported adjusted net income of US$97.6 million, or US$2.20 per share, an 8.3% increase over adjusted net income of US$90.2 million and US$2.03 per share for 3Q11.
Operating income for 3Q12 came in at US$114.1 million, a 14.9% increase over operating income of US$99.3 million in 3Q11. Operating margin for the period came in at 19.3%, compared to 20.9% in 3Q11, as a result of a 1.7% decline in unit revenues and a 0.4% increase in unit cost as a result of increased fuel costs.
Total revenues increased 24.5% to US$590.4 million. Yield per passenger mile increased 1.1% to 17.3 cents, while operating revenue per available seat mile (RASM) decreased 1.7% to 13.5 cents. However, adjusting for a 2.7% increase in average length of haul, adjusted yields increased 2.5% and adjusted RASM remained flat year over year.
For 3Q12, passenger traffic (RPMs) grew 23.8% on a 26.6% capacity expansion, resulting in a consolidated load factor of 75.4% compared to 77.1% in 3Q11.
Operating cost per available seat mile (CASM) came in at 10.9 cents, an increase of 0.4% over 3Q11, but 3.4% lower than 2Q12. CASM excluding fuel costs came in at 6.6 cents for a decrease of 0.2% over 3Q11 and 3.6% over 2Q12.
Cash, short term and long term investments ended 3Q12 at US$795.5 million, representing 37% of the last twelve months’ revenues.
During the third quarter, Copa Airlines took delivery of two Boeing 737-800 aircraft. As a result, Copa Holdings ended the quarter with a consolidated fleet of 82 aircraft.
For 3Q12, Copa Holdings reported consolidated on-time performance of 87.2% and a flight-completion factor of 99.6%.