Copa Holdings Reports Net Income of US$41.3 Million and EPS of US$0.93 for the Second Quarter of 2011

PANAMA CITY, Aug. 3, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Copa Holdings, S.A. (NYSE: CPA), today announced financial results for the second quarter of 2011 (2Q11). 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 second quarter of 2010 (2Q10).

OPERATING AND FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

Copa Holdings reported net income of US$41.3 million for 2Q11, or diluted earnings per share (EPS) of US$0.93. Excluding special items, Copa Holdings would have reported an adjusted net income of $56.6 million, or $1.28 per share, a 52.9% increase over adjusted net income of US$37.0 million and US$0.84 per share for 2Q10.
Operating income for 2Q11 came in at US$75.4 million, a 72.6% increase over operating income of US$43.7 million in 2Q10. Operating margin for the period came in at 17.6%, compared to 14.4% in 2Q10, despite a 38.1% increase in the effective price of jet fuel.
Total revenues increased 40.9% to US$428.5 million, significantly outpacing a strong capacity expansion. Yield per passenger mile increased 11.2% to 17.0 cents and operating revenue per available seat mile (RASM) increased 14.7% to 13.6 cents, despite a 12.4% increase in average length of haul.
For 2Q11, robust demand trends resulted in passenger traffic (RPMs) growth of 28.3% and a consolidated load factor of 76.3%, or 3.2 percentage points above 2Q10.
Operating cost per available seat mile (CASM) increased 10.3%, from 10.2 cents in 2Q10 to 11.2 cents in 2Q11. However, CASM excluding fuel costs decreased 0.8% to 6.9 cents.
Cash, short term and long term investments ended 2Q11 at US$466.0 million, representing 29% of the last twelve months’ revenues.
During the second quarter, Copa Airlines took delivery of one Boeing 737-800 aircraft. As a result, Copa Holdings ended the quarter with a consolidated fleet of 66 aircraft. During the second half of 2011, Copa Airlines expects to take delivery of an additional seven Boeing 737-800 aircraft to end the year with a consolidated fleet of 73 aircraft.
On June 15, Copa Airlines expanded its operations at its Hub of the Americas in Panama City, by transitioning from four to six connecting banks. Copa Airlines’ six bank hub provides passengers with greater flight options, better schedules and more frequencies, thereby bolstering the Hub of the Americas’ leadership in the region. As part of this expansion, four new destinations were added to Copa Airlines’ network: Toronto, Canada; Nassau, Bahamas; and Brasilia and Porto Alegre, Brazil. In addition, Copa Airlines announced it will launch new service, in December, to three new cities: Chicago, USA; Asunción, Paraguay and Cucuta, Colombia.
For 2Q11, Copa Holdings reported consolidated on-time performance of 89.2% and a flight-completion factor of 99.2%, maintaining its position among the best in the industry.