Copa Holdings Reports Net Income of US$126.0 Million and EPS of US$2.84 for the Third Quarter of 2013

PANAMA CITY, Nov. 12, 2013 /PRNewswire/ — Copa Holdings, S.A. (NYSE: CPA), today announced financial results for the third quarter of 2013 (3Q13). 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 2012 (3Q12).

OPERATING AND FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

Copa Holdings reported net income of US$126.0 million for 3Q13, or diluted earnings per share (EPS) of US$2.84. Excluding special items, Copa Holdings would have reported an adjusted net income of $116.2 million, or $2.62 per share, a 19.0% increase over adjusted net income of US$97.6 million and US$2.20 per share for 3Q12.
Operating income for 3Q13 came in at US$147.5 million, a 29.3% increase over operating income of US$114.1 million in 3Q12. Operating margin for the period came in at 21.8% or 2.5 percentage points over 3Q12, mostly as a result of higher unit revenues.
Total revenues increased 14.7% to US$677.3 million. Yield per passenger mile decreased 0.1% to 17.2 cents and operating revenue per available seat mile (RASM) increased 2.8% to 13.9 cents. However, adjusting for a 7.5% increase in average length of haul, yields increased 3.6% and RASM increased 6.6%.
For 3Q13, passenger traffic (RPMs) grew 15.5% on an 11.6% capacity expansion. Consolidated load factor came in at 78.1%, or 2.6 percentage points above 3Q12.
Operating cost per available seat mile (CASM) improved 0.3% to 10.9 cents. CASM, excluding fuel, increased 2.7% to 6.8 cents.
Cash, short term and long term investments ended 3Q13 at US$1.0 billion, representing 40.7% of the last twelve months’ revenues.
During the third quarter, Copa Airlines took delivery of three Boeing 737-800 aircraft. As a result, Copa Holdings ended the quarter with a consolidated fleet of 89 aircraft. Additionally, during the months of September and October, Copa Airlines completed the extension of four 737-700 aircraft leases that were expiring in 2014.
For 3Q13, Copa Holdings reported consolidated on-time performance of 87.3% and a flight-completion factor of 99.7%, maintaining its position among the best in the industry.