Copa Holdings Reports Net Income of US$151.4 Million and EPS of US$3.41 for the First Quarter of 2014

PANAMA CITY, May 7, 2014 /PRNewswire/ — Copa Holdings, S.A. (NYSE: CPA), today announced financial results for the first quarter of 2014 (1Q14). 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 2013 (1Q13).

OPERATING AND FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

Copa Holdings reported net income of US$151.4 million for 1Q14, or diluted earnings per share (EPS) of US$3.41. Excluding special items, Copa Holdings would have reported an adjusted net income of $153.6 million, or $3.46 per share, a 23.5% increase over adjusted net income of US$124.4 million and US$2.80 per share for 1Q13.

Operating income for 1Q14 came in at US$177.0 million, a 24.1% increase over operating income of US$142.6 million in 1Q13. Operating margin for the period came in at 24.8%, compared to 22.2% in 1Q13, as a result of higher unit revenues and lower unit costs.

Total revenues increased 11.3% to US$713.6 million. Yield per passenger mile increased 0.5% to 17.7 cents and operating revenue per available seat mile (RASM) increased 1.9% to 14.2 cents. Furthermore, adjusting for a 3.7% increase in length of haul, yields and RASM increased 2.3% and 3.7%, respectively.
For 1Q14, healthy demand trends resulted in passenger traffic (RPMs) growth of 11.0% on a 9.3% capacity expansion. Consolidated load factor came in at 78.1%, or 1.2 percentage points higher than 1Q13.

Operating cost per available seat mile (CASM) decreased 1.5%, from 10.9 cents in 1Q13 to 10.7 cents in 1Q14 due to lower jet fuel costs. CASM, excluding fuel, increased 1.0% to 6.6 cents mainly due to full year effect of 2013 newly leased aircraft.

Cash, short term and long term investments ended 1Q14 at US$1.1 billion, representing 41% of the last twelve months’ revenues. Of this amount, 44% is in Venezuela pending repatriation due to government currency controls.

During the first quarter, Copa Airlines took delivery of one Boeing 737-800 aircraft. As a result, Copa Holdings ended the quarter with a consolidated fleet of 91 aircraft.

For 1Q14, Copa Holdings reported consolidated on-time performance of 92.3% and a flight-completion factor of 99.8%, maintaining its position among the best in the industry.
Subsequent Events

During the month of April, Copa Airlines mandated the arrangement of a Japanese Operating Lease with Call Option (JOLCO) financing for four Boeing 737-800 aircraft delivering in 2014.

On June 16, 2014, Copa Holdings will pay its second quarter dividend of US$0.96 per share, on all outstanding Class A and Class B shares, to stockholders of record as of May 30, 2014.