Copa Holdings, S.A. (Copa Airlines and Copa Airlines Colombia) (Panama City) has announced its financial results for the fourth quarter of 2012 and the full year of 2012.

• Copa Holdings reported net income of US$86.6 million for 4Q12 or earnings per share (EPS) of US$1.95, as compared to net income of US$104.4 million or EPS of US$2.36 in 4Q11.  Excluding special items, Copa Holdings reported an adjusted net income of US$89.3 million or adjusted EPS of $2.01, compared to adjusted net income of US$85.3 million or adjusted EPS of $1.93 in 4Q11.
• Net income for full year 2012 reached US$326.5 million or EPS of US$7.35, compared to US$310.4 million or EPS of US$6.98 for full year 2011.  Excluding special items, however, Copa Holdings would have reported an adjusted net income of US$336.1 million or EPS of US$7.57, compared to adjusted net income of US$314.1 or adjusted EPS of $7.06 for full year 2011.
• Operating income for 4Q12 came in at US$104.3 million, representing a 6.5% decline from operating income of US$111.5 million in 4Q11, mainly as a result of a 3.7% drop in unit operating revenue per available seat mile (RASM) and a 6.3% increase in the all-in price of jet fuel.  As a result, operating margin for 4Q12 came in at 17.4%, or 4.5 percentage points below 4Q11.
• The Company reported operating income of US$402.5 million for full year 2012, representing an increase of 4.6% over operating income of US$385.0 million in 2011.  Operating margin for full year 2012 came in at 17.9%, as compared to an operating margin of 21.0% in 2011.
• Total revenues for 4Q12 increased 17.7% to US$599.8 million. Yield per passenger mile decreased 4.1% to 17.1 cents and RASM came in at 13.5 cents, or 3.7% below 4Q11.  However, on a quarter over quarter basis, both yields and RASM remained relatively flat over our third quarter high season, declining only 0.9% and 0.2%, respectively.
• For 4Q12 consolidated passenger traffic grew 23.7%, led by international traffic growth which expanded a robust 26.0%.  At the same time, consolidated capacity grew 22.3%, led by a 24.4% increase in international capacity.  As a result, consolidated load factor for the quarter increased 0.8 percentage points to 75.7%.  For full year 2012, consolidated load factor came in at 75.4%, down 0.9 percentage points from 2011, on 24.1% capacity growth.
• Operating cost per available seat mile (CASM) increased 1.8%, from 11.0 cents in 4Q11 to 11.1 cents in 4Q12 as a result of an increase in the all-in price of jet fuel.  However, CASM excluding fuel cost decreased 1.3% from 6.9 cents in 4Q11 to 6.8 cents in 4Q12, as a result of lower labor, maintenance and distribution unit costs, which were partly offset mainly by higher passenger servicing costs and other administrative expenses.
• Cash, short term and long term investments ended 2012 at US$720.5 million, representing 32% of the last twelve months’ revenues.
• During the fourth quarter, Copa Airlines took delivery of two Boeing 737-800s and returned one leased Boeing 737-800 aircraft.  As a result, Copa Holdings ended the year with a consolidated fleet of 83 aircraft, composed of 18 Boeing 737-700s, 39 Boeing 737-800s and 26 Embraer-190s.
• During the fourth quarter, Copa Holdings and Boeing agreed to reschedule four future B737-800 aircraft deliveries (2 firm and 2 options).  As a result, the company now has eight firm deliveries of Boeing 737-800 aircraft and four lease expirations of B737-700 aircraft for 2014.
• For 2012, Copa Holdings reported on-time performance of 85.5% and a flight-completion factor of 99.6%, maintaining its position among the best in the industry.

Copyright Photo: Tony Storck. Boeing 737-7V3 HP-1524CMP (msn 33705) arrives at Miami International Airport, its original destination in North America.

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