Copa Holdings reports a larger second quarter net profit

Copa Holdings, S.A. (Copa Airlines) (Panama City) has its announced financial results for the second quarter of 2015 (2Q15).

OPERATING AND FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS:

Copa Holdings reported net income of $64.1 million (all amounts are in US dollars) for 2Q15, or diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $1.46. Excluding special items, Copa Holdings would have reported an adjusted net income of $41.0 million, or $0.93 per share, a 64.7% decrease over adjusted net income of $115.9 million and $2.61 per share for 2Q14.

Operating income for 2Q15 came in at $49.2 million, a 62.5% decrease over operating income of $131.2 million in 2Q14. Operating margin for the period came in at 9.1%, compared to 19.5% in 2Q14, as a result of lower unit revenues partially offset by lower unit costs.

Total revenues decreased 20.1% to $538.4 million. Yield per passenger mile decreased 20.4% to 13.2 cents and operating revenue per available seat mile (RASM) decreased 24.4% to 10.0 cents.

For 2Q15, passenger traffic (RPMs) decreased 0.2% on a 5.8% capacity expansion. As a result, consolidated load factor came in at 72.9%, or 4.3 percentage points below 2Q14.

Operating cost per available seat mile (CASM) decreased 14.7%, from 10.7 cents in 2Q14 to 9.1 cents in 2Q15, mainly due to lower jet fuel costs. CASM excluding fuel decreased 6.3% to 6.2 cents mainly due to lower sales related expenses and lower overhead expenses.

Cash, short-term and long-term investments ended 2Q15 at $1.15 billion, representing 46% of the last twelve months’ revenues. Of this amount, 39%, or $452.2 million, is in Venezuela pending repatriation due to government currency controls.

During the second quarter, Copa Airlines took delivery of two Boeing 737-800 aircraft, and returned a leased Boeing 737-700.

Furthermore, the Company subleased one of its Boeing 737-700s to United Airlines. As a result, Copa Holdings ended the quarter with a consolidated fleet of 98 aircraft.

For 2Q15, Copa Holdings reported consolidated on-time performance of 90.4% and a flight-completion factor of 99.7%, maintaining its position among the best in the industry.

SUBSEQUENT EVENTS

During July 2015, Copa Holdings subleased one more of its Boeing 737-700s to United Airlines.

Copa Holdings will pay its third quarter dividend of US$0.84 per share on September 15, 2015, on all outstanding Class A and Class B shares, to stockholders of record as of August 31, 2015.

Note:

(1) Breakeven Load Factor, Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted EPS for 2Q15, 2Q14, and 1Q15 exclude non-cash charges/gains associated with the mark-to-market of fuel hedges, and also exclude charges/gains related to the Venezuelan currency.