Copa Holdings Reports Net Income of US$92.8 Million for the Fourth Quarter of 2010 and US$212.1 Million for Full Year 2010

Excluding special items, net Income for the year was $219.2 million

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Feb 10, 2011, 05:00 ET

PANAMA CITY, Feb. 10, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Copa Holdings, S.A. (NYSE: CPA), parent company of Copa Airlines and Copa Airlines Colombia, today announced financial results for the fourth quarter of 2010 (4Q10) and full year 2010. The terms "Copa Holdings" or "the Company" refers to the consolidated entity, whose operating subsidiaries are Copa Airlines and Copa Airlines Colombia. The following financial and operating information, unless otherwise indicated, is presented in accordance with US GAAP. See the accompanying reconciliation of non-GAAP financial information to GAAP financial information included in financial tables section of this earnings release. Unless otherwise stated, all comparisons with prior periods refer to the fourth quarter of 2009 (4Q09).

OPERATING AND FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

Copa Holdings reported net income of US$92.8 million for 4Q10 or earnings per share (EPS) of US$2.11, as compared to net income of US$ 70.4 million or EPS of US$1.60 in 4Q09. Excluding special items, Copa Holdings reported an adjusted net income of US$81.2 million, representing a 23.7% increase over adjusted net income of US$65.7 million in 4Q09.
Net income for full year 2010 reached US$212.1 million or EPS of US$4.82, compared to US$240.4 million or EPS of US$5.47 for full year 2009. Excluding special items, however, Copa Holdings reported an adjusted net income of US$219.2 million compared to US$201.7 for full year 2009, representing an increase of 8.7%.
Operating income for 4Q10 came in at US$89.0 million, representing an increase of 24.0% over operating income of US$71.8 million in 4Q09. Adjusted operating income, which excludes a US$4.8 million special fleet charge recorded in 4Q09, increased 16.2% from US$76.6 million in 4Q09 to US$89.0 million in 4Q10. Operating margin for 4Q10 came in at 21.7%,
The Company reported operating income of US$263.0 million for full year 2010, representing an increase of 8.3% over adjusted operating income of US$242.7 million. Operating margin for full year 2010 came in at 18.6% as compared to an adjusted operating margin of 19.4% in 2009.
Total revenues for 4Q10 increased 19.7% to US$410.6 million. Yield per passenger mile increased 0.7% to 16.5 cents and operating revenue per available seat mile (RASM) came in at 13.7 cents, flat over 4Q09. On a length of haul adjusted basis, yields and RASM increased 3.2% and 2.6%, respectively.
For 4Q10 consolidated passenger traffic grew 18.6% while capacity increased 19.6%. As a result, consolidated load factor for the quarter decreased 0.6 percentage points to 78.8%. For full year 2010, consolidated load factor came in at 76.9%, up 2.2 percentage points over 2009, on 10.5% capacity growth.
Operating cost per available seat mile (CASM) decreased 0.8%, from 10.9 cents in 4Q09 to 10.8 cents in 4Q10. CASM, excluding fuel costs and special fleet charges for 4Q09, decreased 2.6% from 7.6 cents in 4Q09 to 7.4 cents in 4Q10, mostly as a result of the dilution effect of capacity added in the second half of 2010.
Cash, short term and long term investments ended 2010 at US$408.8 million, representing 29% of the last twelve months' revenues.
During the fourth quarter, Copa Airlines took delivery of three Boeing 737-800s. As a result, Copa Holdings ended the year with a consolidated fleet of 63 aircraft, composed of 20 Boeing 737-700s, 17 Boeing 737-800s and 26 Embraer-190s.
For 2010, Copa Airlines reported on-time performance of 90.7% and a flight-completion factor of 99.6%, maintaining its position among the best in the industry.

Consolidated Financial & Operating Highlights	4Q10	Variance vs. 4Q09	Variance vs. 3Q10	FY 2010	Variance vs. 2009
RPMs (millions)	2,354	18.6%	7.6%	8,416	13.8%
ASMs (mm)	2,986	19.6%	3.1%	10,950	10.5%
Load Factor	78.8%	-0.6 p.p.	3.3 p.p.	76.9%	2.2 p.p.
Yield	16.5	0.7%	4.9%	15.9	-1.1%
PRASM (cents)	13.0	-0.1%	9.5%	12.2	1.8%
RASM (cents)	13.7	0.1%	10.0%	12.9	1.9%
CASM (cents)	10.8	-0.8%	7.1%	10.5	0.9%
Adjusted CASM (cents)(1)	10.8	1.0%	7.1%	10.5	2.7%
CASM Excl. Fuel (cents)	7.4	-5.1%	6.9%	7.2	-1.5%
Adjusted CASM Excl. Fuel (cents)(1)	7.4	-2.6%	6.9%	7.2	1.2%
Breakeven Load Factor(2)	59.1%	-0.9 p.p.	-1.8 p.p.	61.6%	2.4 p.p.
Operating Revenues (US$ mm)	410.6	19.7%	13.4%	1,411.1	12.6%
Operating Income (US$ mm)	89.0	24.0%	25.8%	263.0	17.8%
Adjusted Operating Income (US$ mm)(1)	89.0	16.2%	25.8%	263.0	8.3%
Operating Margin	21.7%	0.8 p.p.	2.1 p.p.	18.6%	0.8 p.p.
Adjusted Operating Margin(1)	21.7%	-0.7 p.p.	2.1 p.p.	18.6%	-0.7 p.p.
Net Income (US$ mm)	92.8	31.8%	45.2%	212.1	-11.8%
Adjusted Net Income (US$ mm)(2)	81.2	23.7%	48.1%	219.2	8.7%
EPS - Basic and Diluted (US$)	2.11	31.6%	45.2%	4.82	-11.9%
Adjusted EPS - Basic and Diluted (US$)(2)	1.85	23.5%	48.1%	4.98	8.5%
# of Shares - Basic and Diluted (000)	43,996	0.1%	0.0%	43,996	0.2%
(1) Adjusted Operating Income, Adjusted Operating Margin and Adjusted CASM for 4Q09 and full year 2009 exclude special charges related to the accrual of costs associated with the retirement of four MD-80 aircraft as a result of Copa Colombia’s fleet modernization plan. (2) Breakeven Load Factor, Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted EPS (Basic and Diluted) exclude: a) For 4Q09 and 2009, special charges related to the accrual of costs associated with the retirement of four MD-80 aircraft as a result of Copa Colombia’s transition fleet modernization plan b) For 4Q10, 4Q09, 3Q10, 2010 and 2009 exclude non-cash charges/gains associated with the mark-to-market of fuel hedges. Additionally, for 2010, Other Special Items include a US$18.9 million charge related to the devaluation of the Venezuelan currency. Note: Attached to this press release is a reconciliation of non-GAAP financial measures to the comparable US GAAP measures.

Full 4Q10 earnings release available for download at: http://investor.shareholder.com/copa/results.cfm

4Q10 EARNINGS RESULTS CONFERENCE CALL AND WEBCAST

Date:	February 11, 2011
Time:	11:00 a.m. EST (11:00 a.m. Panama Time)
*Conference Call:*
Telephone Number:	(877) 293-5456 (U.S. Domestic Callers)
	(707) 287-9357 (International Callers)
*Webcast Link:*	http://investor.shareholder.com/copa/events.cfm

About Copa Holdings:

Copa Holdings, through its operating subsidiaries Copa Airlines and Copa Airlines Colombia, is a leading Latin American commercial aviation provider of passenger and cargo service. Copa offers more than 150 daily scheduled flights to 46 destinations in 25 countries in North, Central and South America and the Caribbean through its Hub of the Americas at Tocumen International Airport in Panama City, Panama. In addition, Copa Airlines provides passengers with access to flights to more than 120 other international destinations through codeshare agreements with Continental Airlines and other airlines. Copa Airlines Colombia, provides domestic service to 12 cities in Colombia as well as international connectivity with Copa Airlines' Hub of the Americas through flights from Bogota, Cali, Medellin, Cartagena, Bucaramanga, Pereira and Barranquilla. Additionally, Copa Airlines Colombia has non-stop international flights from Colombia to Caracas, Quito, Guayaquil, Havana, Mexico City and Cancun.

This release includes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements are based on current plans, estimates and expectations, and are not guarantees of future performance. They are based on management's expectations that involve a number of business risks and uncertainties, any of which could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by the forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement. The risks and uncertainties relating to the forward-looking statements in this release are among those disclosed in Copa Holdings' filed disclosure documents and are, therefore, subject to change without prior notice.

Copa Holdings, S.A.

NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURE RECONCILIATION

This press release includes the following non GAAP financial measures: Adjusted CASM, Adjusted CASM Excluding Fuel, Adjusted Operating Income, Adjusted Operating Margin, Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted EPS. This supplemental information is presented because we believe it is a useful indicator of our operating performance and is useful in comparing our performance with other companies in the airline industry. These measures should not be considered in isolation, and should be considered together with comparable U.S. GAAP measures, in particular operating income and net income. The following is a reconciliation of these non-GAAP financial measures to the comparable U.S. GAAP measures:


Reconciliation of Operating Income
Excluding Special Items	4Q10	4Q09	3Q10	2010	2009
Operating Income as Reported	$88,982	$71,757	$70,731	$263,011	$223,326

Special Items (adjustments):
Other Special Items, net (2)	-	4,818	-	-	19,417
Adjusted Operating Income	$88,982	$76,575	$70,731	$263,011	$242,743


Reconciliation of Net Income
Excluding Special Items	4Q10	4Q09	3Q10	2010	2009

Net income as Reported	$92,839	$70,442	$63,922	$212,099	$240,358

Special Items (adjustments):
Unrealized (gain) loss on fuel hedging instruments (1)	(11,627)	(9,593)	(9,068)	(11,721)	(58,040)
Other Special Items, net (2)	-	4,818	-	18,863	19,417
Adjusted Net Income	$81,212	$65,667	$54,854	$219,242	$201,735

Shares used for Computation (in thousands)
Basic and Diluted	43,996	43,948	43,999	43,996	43,911

Adjusted earnings per share
Basic and Diluted	1.85	1.49	1.25	4.98	4.59


Reconciliation Operating Costs per ASM
Excluding Fuel and Special Items	4Q10	4Q09	3Q10	2010	2009

Operating Costs per ASM as Reported	10.8	10.9	10.1	10.5	10.4
Aircraft fuel per ASM	(3.4)	(3.1)	(3.1)	(3.2)	(3.0)
Operating Costs per ASM excluding fuel	7.4	7.7	6.9	7.2	7.4
Special Items (adjustments):
Other Special Items per ASM, net (2)	-	(0.2)	-	-	(0.2)
Operating expenses excluding fuel and special items	7.4	7.6	6.9	7.2	7.2
FOOTNOTES: (1) Include unrealized gains resulting from the mark-to-market accounting for changes in the fair value of fuel hedging instruments. (2) Other Special Items for 4Q09 and 2009 include special charges related to the accrual of costs associated with the retirement of four MD-80 aircraft as a result of Copa Airlines Colombia's fleet modernization plan. Additionally, for 2010 includes a US$18.9 million charge related to the devaluation of the Venezuelan currency.