Copa Holdings, S.A. (Copa Airlines) has announced financial results for the fourth quarter of 2022 (4Q22) and the full year of 2022.
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 the financial tables section of this earnings release. Unless otherwise stated, all comparisons with prior periods refer to the fourth quarter of 2019 (4Q19) (which the Company believes are more relevant than year-over-year comparisons due to the significant impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021).
OPERATING AND FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
- Copa Holdings reported a net profit of US$88.3 million for 4Q22 or US$2.23 per share, mainly driven by the continued effect of high fuel prices as well as the negative mark-to-market effect of the Company’s convertible notes.
- Excluding special items, comprised of the unrealized mark-to-market net loss of US$89.4 million mentioned above related to the Company’s convertible notes, as well as changes in the value of financial investments, the Company would have reported a net profit of US$177.7 million or US$4.49 per share.
- For the full-year 2022, the Company reported a net profit of US$348.1 million or US$8.58 per share. Excluding special items, comprised of an unrealized mark-to-market net gain of US$12.7 million related to the Company’s convertible notes as well as changes in the value of financial investments, Copa Holdings would have reported an adjusted net profit of US$335.4 million or US$8.26 per share, compared to a net profit of US$336.3 million or earnings per share of US$7.92 in 2019.
- In 4Q22, Copa Holdings reported an operating profit of US$219.7 million and a 24.7% operating margin.
- For the full-year 2022, the Company reported an operating profit of US$450.4 millionand an operating margin of 15.2%, compared to an adjusted operating profit of US$435.5 million and an operating margin of 16.1% in 2019.
- Total revenues for 4Q22 increased 30.6% to US$890.6 million, as compared to 4Q19 revenues. Yields increased 20.4% to 15.1 cents and revenue per available seat mile (RASM) increased 23.4% to 13.7 cents.
- Adjusted operating cost per available seat mile (Adjusted CASM) increased 10.3% from 9.3 cents in 4Q19 to 10.3 cents in 4Q22, driven by an increase of 63.1% in the price of fuel per gallon. Adjusted CASM excluding fuel (Adjusted Ex-fuel CASM) decreased 7.0% in the quarter to 6.1 cents, as compared to 4Q19.
- Passenger traffic, measured in terms of revenue passenger mile (RPMs), increased by 7.5% compared to 4Q19, while capacity (ASMs) increased by 5.9%. As a result, load factors for the quarter increased by 1.4 percentage points to 86.6%.
- The Company ended the quarter with approximately US$1.1 billion in cash, short-term and long-term investments, which represent 38.3% of the last twelve months’ revenues, compared to US$1.2 billion held at the end of 2021.
- The Company closed the quarter with total debt, including lease liabilities, of US$1.7 billion, compared to US$1.6 billion at the end of 2021.
- During the quarter, the Company took delivery of two Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft, ending the year with a consolidated fleet of 97 aircraft – 67 Boeing 737-800s, 20 Boeing 737 MAX 9s, 9 Boeing 737-700s, and 1 Boeing 737-800 freighter, compared to a fleet of 102 aircraft prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Copa Airlines had an on-time performance for the quarter of 86.1% and a flight completion factor of 99.6%.
Subsequent Events
- In January, the Company took delivery of one Boeing 737 MAX 9 and expects to receive one additional aircraft by the end of the first quarter.
- In January, Copa Airlines was recognized by OAG as the most on-time airline in Latin America in 2022. Copa Airlines’ on-time performance of 87.5% for the year was the highest of any carrier in the Americas.
- In February, the Company announced the commencement of services to Manta, Ecuador, Baltimore-Washington International Airport, and Austin, Texas, bringing the total number of destinations in our network to 80. All new services are scheduled to start between June and July of 2023.
| Consolidated Financial & Operating Highlights | 4Q22 | 4Q19 (2) | Variance vs. 3Q19 | 3Q22 | Variance vs. 2Q22 | FY22 | FY19 (2) | Variance vs. YTD19 |
| Revenue Passengers Carried (000s) | 2,813 | 2,633 | 6.9 % | 2,755 | 2.1 % | 10,334 | 10,474 | -1.3 % |
| Revenue Passengers OnBoard (000s) | 4,262 | 3,838 | 11.1 % | 4,190 | 1.7 % | 15,724 | 15,424 | 1.9 % |
| RPMs (millions) | 5,639 | 5,244 | 7.5 % | 5,508 | 2.4 % | 20,779 | 21,303 | -2.5 % |
| ASMs (millions) | 6,509 | 6,149 | 5.9 % | 6,344 | 2.6 % | 24,430 | 25,113 | -2.7 % |
| Load Factor | 86.6 % | 85.3 % | 1.4 p.p. | 86.8 % | -0.2 p.p. | 85.1 % | 84.8 % | 0.2 p.p. |
| Yield (US$ Cents) | 15.1 | 12.5 | 20.4 % | 14.1 | 7.5 % | 13.6 | 12.3 | 10.8 % |
| PRASM (US$ Cents) | 13.1 | 10.7 | 22.4 % | 12.2 | 7.3 % | 11.6 | 10.4 | 11.1 % |
| RASM (US$ Cents) | 13.7 | 11.1 | 23.4 % | 12.8 | 7.2 % | 12.1 | 10.8 | 12.6 % |
| CASM (US$ Cents) | 10.3 | 10.8 | -4.6 % | 10.5 | -1.8 % | 10.3 | 9.4 | 9.5 % |
| Adjusted CASM (US$ Cents) (1) | 10.3 | 9.3 | 10.3 % | 10.5 | -1.8 % | 10.3 | 9.0 | 13.8 % |
| CASM Excl. Fuel (US$ Cents) | 6.1 | 8.0 | -23.9 % | 5.9 | 3.4 % | 6.0 | 6.6 | -9.7 % |
| Adjusted CASM Excl. Fuel (US$ Cents) (1) | 6.1 | 6.6 | -7.0 % | 5.9 | 3.4 % | 6.0 | 6.3 | -4.6 % |
| Fuel Gallons Consumed (millions) | 77.7 | 78.9 | -1.6 % | 75.7 | 2.7 % | 291.4 | 321.4 | -9.4 % |
| Avg. Price Per Fuel Gallon (US$) | 3.52 | 2.16 | 63.1 % | 3.81 | -7.5 % | 3.60 | 2.16 | 66.9 % |
| Average Length of Haul (miles) | 2,005 | 1,992 | 0.7 % | 1,999 | 0.3 % | 2,011 | 2,034 | -1.1 % |
| Average Stage Length (miles) | 1,266 | 1,279 | -1.0 % | 1,265 | 0.1 % | 1,275 | 1,288 | -1.0 % |
| Departures | 32,112 | 32,441 | -1.0 % | 31,484 | 2.0 % | 120,155 | 131,819 | -8.8 % |
| Block Hours | 104,822 | 105,620 | -0.8 % | 102,027 | 2.7 % | 390,639 | 431,749 | -9.5 % |
| Average Aircraft Utilization (hours) | 11.8 | 11.3 | 4.7 % | 11.7 | 0.6 % | 11.3 | 11.4 | -0.7 % |
| Operating Revenues (US$ millions) | 890.6 | 681.9 | 30.6 % | 809.4 | 10.0 % | 2,965.0 | 2,707.4 | 9.5 % |
| Operating Profit (Loss) (US$ millions) | 219.7 | 17.8 | 1133.7 % | 143.7 | 52.9 % | 450.4 | 346.2 | 30.1 % |
| Adjusted Operating Profit (Loss) (US$ millions) (1) | 219.7 | 107.1 | 105.0 % | 143.7 | 52.9 % | 450.4 | 435.5 | 3.4 % |
| Operating Margin | 24.7 % | 2.6 % | 22.1 p.p. | 17.8 % | 6.9 p.p. | 15.2 % | 12.8 % | 2.4 p.p. |
| Adjusted Operating Margin (1) | 24.7 % | 15.7 % | 9.0 p.p. | 17.8 % | 6.9 p.p. | 15.2 % | 16.1 % | -0.9 p.p. |
| Net Profit (Loss) (US$ millions) | 88.3 | 2.7 | 3136.5 % | 115.9 | -23.9 % | 348.1 | 247.0 | 40.9 % |
| Adjusted Net Profit (Loss) (US$ millions) (1) | 177.7 | 92.1 | 93.0 % | 115.1 | 54.4 % | 335.4 | 336.3 | -0.3 % |
| Basic EPS (US$) | 2.23 | 0.06 | 3376.5 % | 2.93 | -23.8 % | 8.58 | 5.81 | 47.5 % |
| Adjusted Basic EPS (US$) (1) | 4.49 | 2.17 | 107.3 % | 2.91 | 54.5 % | 8.26 | 7.92 | 4.4 % |
| Shares for calculation of Basic EPS (000s) | 39,554 | 42,487 | -6.9 % | 39,589 | -0.1 % | 40,582 | 42,483 | -4.5 % |
- Excludes Special Items. This earnings release includes a reconciliation of non-IFRS financial measures to the comparable IFRS measures.
- The Company believes that comparisons with 2019 are more relevant than year-over-year comparisons due to the significant impacts in 2020 and 2021 of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Top Copyright Photo: Copa Airlines Boeing 737-9 MAX 9 HP-9912CMP (msn 44211) BFI (Brian Worthington). Image: 959983.
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