Copa Holdings Reports Net Income of $191.8 million and EPS of $4.55 for the Fourth Quarter of 2023

Copa Holdings, S.A. (NYSE: CPA), announced financial results for the fourth quarter of 2023 (4Q23) and the full year of 2023. 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). 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 2022 (4Q22).

OPERATING AND FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

• Copa Holdings reported a net profit of US$191.8 million for 4Q23 or US$4.55 per share. Excluding special items comprised of a net gain of US$3.4 million related to the value of financial investments, the Company would have reported a net profit of US$188.4 million or US$4.47 per share.
  
  
• For the full year 2023, the Company reported a net profit of US$518.2 million or US$12.89 per share. Excluding special items, comprised of a net loss related to the Company’s convertible notes as well as changes in the value of financial investments totaling US$156.9 million, Copa Holdings would have reported an adjusted net profit of US$675.1 million or US$16.79 per share, compared to an adjusted net profit of US$335.4 million or earnings per share of US$8.26 in 2022.
  
  
• Copa Holdings reported an operating profit of US$218.9 million and a 23.9% operating margin for the quarter.
  
  
• For the full year 2023, the Company reported an operating profit of US$811.8 million and an operating margin of 23.5%, compared to an adjusted operating profit of US$450.4 million and an operating margin of 15.2% in 2022.
  
  
• Passenger traffic for 4Q23, measured in terms of revenue passenger miles (RPMs), increased by 11.1% compared to 4Q22 in line with capacity which, measured in available seat miles (ASMs), increased by 11.0%. As a result, the load factor for the quarter increased by 0.1 percentage points to 86.7% compared to 4Q22.
  
  
• Total revenues for 4Q23 increased 3.0% to US$916.9 million mainly driven by higher capacity, while yields decreased by 7.1% to 14.0 cents. Consequently, revenue per available seat mile (RASM) decreased by 7.3% as compared to 4Q22 to 12.7 cents.
  
  
• Operating cost per available seat mile (CASM) decreased 6.3% from 10.3 cents in 4Q22 to 9.7 cents in 4Q23, mainly driven by a decrease of 12.7% in the price of jet fuel per gallon and lower sales and distribution costs. CASM excluding fuel (Ex-fuel CASM) decreased by 1.6% in the quarter to 6.0 cents, when compared to 4Q22.
  
  
• The Company ended the quarter with approximately US$1.2 billion in cash, short-term and long-term investments, which represent 34% of the last twelve months’ revenues.
  
  
• The Company closed the quarter with total debt, including lease liabilities, of US$1.7 billion, while our Adjusted Net Debt to EBITDA ratio ended at 0.5 times.
  
  
• During the quarter, the Company took delivery of three Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft, ending the year with a consolidated fleet of 106 aircraft – 67 Boeing 737-800s, 29 Boeing 737 MAX 9s, 9 Boeing 737-700s, and     1 Boeing 737-800 freighter.
  
  
• Copa Airlines had an on-time performance for the quarter of 83.8% and a flight completion factor of 99.8%.

Subsequent Events

• In January, Copa Airlines was recognized by Cirium for the ninth time as the most on-time airline in Latin America in 2023. Copa Airlines’ on-time performance of 89.5% for the year was the highest of any carrier in the Americas.
  
  
• Following the Airworthiness Directive issued by the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on January 6, the Company suspended operations of twenty-one 737 MAX9 aircraft. From January 6 to January 29, a total of 1788 flights were canceled. After undergoing the technical inspections required by the regulators, all of these aircraft have returned to Copa Airlines’ flight schedule.
  
  
• On February 7, 2024, the Board of Directors of Copa Holdings approved a 2024 quarterly dividend payment of US$1.61 per share. Dividends will be distributed during March, June, September, and December. The first quarterly dividend of US$1.61 per share will be paid on March 15, 2024, to shareholders on record as of February 29, 2024.

(1)  Excludes Special Items. This earnings release includes a reconciliation of non-IFRS financial measures to the comparable IFRS measures.