Copa Holdings, S.A., today announced financial results for the first quarter of 2018 (1Q18). The terms “Copa Holdings” and “the Company” refer to the consolidated entity. The following financial information, unless otherwise indicated, is presented in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).
OPERATING AND FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
• Copa Holdings reported net income of US$136.5 million for 1Q18 or earnings per share (EPS) of US$3.22, as compared to net income of US$101.0 million or earnings per share of US$2.38 in 1Q17.
• Operating income for 1Q18 came in at US$143.4 million, representing a 23.4% increase over operating income of US$116.2 million in 1Q17, as a result of a 7.2% increase in unit revenues (RASM), which outpaced the 5.6% oil-driven increase in unit costs (CASM). Operating margin for 1Q18 came in at a strong 20.1%, compared to an operating margin of 18.9% in 1Q17.
• For 1Q18, consolidated passenger traffic grew 10.4% while consolidated capacity grew 8.4%. As a result, consolidated load factor for the quarter increased 1.5 percentage points to 83.0%.
• Total revenues for 1Q18 increased 16.2% to US$715.0 million. Yield per passenger mile increased 5.3% to 13.3 cents and RASM came in at 11.4 cents, or 7.2% above 1Q17.
• Operating cost per available seat mile (CASM) increased 5.6%, from 8.6 cents in 1Q17 to 9.1 cents in 1Q18. CASM excluding fuel costs increased 1.1% from 6.2 cents in 1Q17 to 6.3 cents in 1Q18, mainly as a result of maintenance events related to an aircraft lease return.
• Cash, short-term and long-term investments ended the quarter slightly over US$1.0 billion, representing 38% of the last twelve months’ revenues.
• Copa Holdings ended the quarter with a consolidated fleet of 100 aircraft – 67 Boeing 737-800s, 14 Boeing 737-700s, and 19 Embraer-190s.
• For 1Q18, Copa Airlines had an on-time performance of 91.3% and a flight-completion factor of 99.8%, maintaining its position among the best in the industry.
Subsequent Events
• In April 2018, the company took delivery of one Boeing 737-800, increasing the consolidated fleet to 101 aircraft.
• Copa Holdings will pay its second quarterly dividend of $0.87 per share on June 15, to all Class A and Class B shareholders on record as of May 31, 2018.
Consolidated Financial
& Operating Highlights 1Q18 1Q17* Variance vs. 1Q17 4Q17* Variance vs. 4Q17
Revenue Passengers Carried (‘000) 2,465 2,264 8.9% 2,460 0.2%
RPMs (mm) 5,223 4,732 10.4% 5,086 2.7%
ASMs (mm) 6,297 5,808 8.4% 6,111 3.0%
Load Factor 83.0% 81.5% 1.5 p.p. 83.2% -0.3 p.p.
Yield 13.3 12.6 5.3% 12.7 4.5%
PRASM (US$ Cents) 11.0 10.3 7.2% 10.6 4.1%
RASM (US$ Cents) 11.4 10.6 7.2% 11.0 3.7%
CASM (US$ Cents) 9.1 8.6 5.6% 9.1 -0.1%
CASM Excl. Fuel (US$ Cents) 6.3 6.2 1.1% 6.5 -2.4%
Fuel Gallons Consumed (Millions) 80.1 74.2 8.0% 78.7 1.8%
Avg. Price Per Fuel Gallon (US$ Dollars) 2.16 1.84 17.6% 2.03 6.7%
Average Length of Haul (Miles) 2,119 2,090 1.4% 2,067 2.5%
Average Stage Length (Miles) 1,322 1,275 3.7% 1,292 2.3%
Departures 32,339 31,095 4.0% 32,183 0.5%
Block Hours 108,635 101,495 7.0% 106,750 1.8%
Average Aircraft Utilization (Hours) 12.0 11.3 6.1% 11.6 3.3%
Operating Revenues (US$ mm) 715.0 615.3 16.2% 669.3 6.8%
Operating Income (US$ mm) 143.4 116.2 23.4% 114.1 25.7%
Operating Margin 20.1% 18.9% 1.2 p.p. 17.1% 3.0 p.p.
Net Income (US$ mm) 136.5 101.0 35.1% 94.6 44.3%
Adjusted Net Income (US$ mm) (1) 136.5 101.9 34.0% 94.0 45.1%
EPS – Basic and Diluted (US$) 3.22 2.38 35.0% 2.23 44.3%
Adjusted EPS – Basic and Diluted (US$) (1) 3.22 2.40 33.8% 2.22 45.1%
# of Shares – Basic and Diluted (‘000) 42,439 42,396 0.1% 42,430 0.0%
(1)Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted EPS for 1Q17, and 4Q17 exclude non-cash charges/gains associated with the mark-to-market of fuel hedges.
* Restated for retrospective adoption of IFRS15.
