Volaris Reports Financial Results for the Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2022

MEXICO CITY, Feb. 21, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Controladora Vuela Compañía de Aviación, S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE: VLRS and BMV: VOLAR) ("Volaris" or "The Company"), the ultra-low-cost airline serving Mexico, the United States, Central and South America, today announces its financial results for the fourth quarter and full year 2022¹.

Fourth Quarter 2022 Highlights²
(All figures are reported in U.S. dollars and compared to 4Q 2021 unless otherwise noted)

• Total operating revenues of $820 million, a 22% increase. Total revenue per available seat mile (TRASM) increased 2.1% to $8.63 cents.
• Available seat miles (ASMs) increased 18% to 9.5 billion.
• Total operating expenses of $760 million, representing 93% of total operating revenue.
• Total operating expenses per available seat mile (CASM) increased 21% to $8.00 cents. Average economic fuel cost increased 45% to $3.71 per gallon. 
• CASM ex fuel increased 7.9% to $4.39 cents.
• Adjusted CASM ex fuel increased 4.5% to $4.10 cents.
• Net income of $28 million. Earnings per share of $0.02 and earnings per ADS of $0.24.
• EBITDAR of $207 million, a 17% decrease.
• EBITDAR margin was 25.2%, a reduction of 11.7 percentage points.
• Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash position totaled $712 million, representing 25% of the last twelve months' total operating revenue.
• Net debt-to-LTM EBITDAR ratio of 3.9 times.

Full Year 2022 Highlights³
(All figures are reported in U.S. dollars and compared to FY 2021 unless otherwise noted)

• Total operating revenues of $2,847 million, a 29% increase. Total revenue per available seat mile (TRASM) increased 2.1% to $8.07 cents.
• Available seat miles (ASMs) increased 26% to 35.3 billion.
• Total operating expenses of $2,803 million, representing 98% of total operating revenue.
• Total operating expenses per available seat mile (CASM) increased 23% to $7.95 cents. Average economic fuel cost increased 68% to $3.80 per gallon. 
• CASM ex fuel increased 0.3% to $4.26 cents.
• Adjusted CASM ex fuel decreased 0.4% to $3.97 cents.
• Net loss of $30 million. Loss per share of $0.03 and loss per ADS of $0.26.
• EBITDAR of $586 million, a 27% decrease.
• EBITDAR margin was 20.6%, a decrease of 16.1 percentage points.

 "2022 was an important touchstone for Volaris, as it showcased our ability to deliver on the important financial expectations that are within our control. We flexed our organization to post strong topline results and expand capacity by 26%, while keeping controllable expenses roughly flat as our adjusted CASM ex fuel was down 0.4%, all during periods of significant economic volatility. While the 68% increase in fuel costs impacted our margin in the short term, the discipline and focus our team showed throughout this challenging year is a reminder of why we are poised to lead Mexican air travel in the coming decade as the premier ULCC globally," said Enrique Beltranena, President & Chief Executive Officer.

Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2022 Financial and Operations Highlights⁴
(All figures are reported in U.S. dollars and compared to 4Q 2021 and FY 2021 unless otherwise noted)

*Note: Figures are rounded for convenience purposes. Further detail found in financial and operating indicators.
(1) Excludes fuel expense, aircraft and engine variable lease expenses and sale and lease-back gains.
(2) Reconciliation of CASM to Adjusted CASM ex fuel:

Fourth Quarter 2022

Total operating revenues in the quarter were $820 million, a 22% increase, driven by higher capacity and strong load factors. Moreover, demand remained strong throughout the quarter with healthy booking curves notwithstanding certain headwinds occurring in the markets where Volaris operates.

Volaris transported 8.5 million passengers in the quarter, an increase of 16%. Domestic and international passengers increased 14% and 26%, respectively, while total capacity, in terms of available seat miles (ASMs), increased 18% to 9.5 billion.

Load factor reached 87.3%, 0.5 percentage points higher than in the same period in 2021.

TRASM increased 2.1% to $8.63 cents in the quarter. Average base fare was $55, an increase of 2.5%. Ancillary revenue per passenger was $41, a 5.1% increase. Ancillary revenue represented 42% of total operating revenue, the same level as fourth quarter 2021. Finally, total operating revenue per passenger stood at $97, representing a 3.9% increase.

Total operating expenses in the quarter were $760 million, representing 93% of total operating revenue, compared to 78% in the same period of 2021; a 15pp increase, impacted by higher fuel costs and the acceleration of our fleet renewal plan.

CASM totaled $8.00 cents, 21% higher when compared to the same period of 2021. The average economic fuel cost per gallon increased 45% to $3.71 per gallon in the period.

CASM ex fuel increased 7.9% to $4.39 cents and adjusted CASM ex fuel increased 4.5% to $4.10 cents.

Comprehensive financing result represented an expense of $32 million in the fourth quarter of 2022, compared to a $174 million expense in the same period of 2021.

For the fourth quarter, the average exchange rate was Ps.19.70 per US dollar, a 5.0% appreciation compared to the fourth quarter of 2021. At the end of the quarter, the exchange rate stood at Ps.19.36 per US dollar.

Net income in the quarter was $28 million, with earnings per share of $0.02 and earnings per ADS of $0.24. In the same period of 2021, Volaris recorded a net loss of $10 million with a loss per share $0.01 and loss per ADS of $0.09.

EBITDAR for the quarter was $207 million, a decrease of 17%, negatively impacted by higher fuel expenses.
EBITDAR margin stood at 25.2%, a decrease of 11.7 percentage points.

Balance Sheet, Liquidity and Capital Allocation
Net cash flow provided by operating activities in the quarter was $168 million, while cash outflows used in investing and financing activities were $104 million and $102 million, respectively.

Full Year 2022

Total operating revenues were $2,847 million, an increase of 29% compared to 2021 levels. Volaris transported 31.1 million passengers, an increase of 27%, while total capacity for the year, in terms of available seat miles (ASMs), increased 26% to 35.3 billion. Load factor reached 85.6%, an increase of 0.9 percentage points compared to 2021.

TRASM increased 2.1% to $8.07 cents. Average base fare was $54, an increase of 3.1%. Ancillary revenue per passenger was $38, posting a 2.5% decrease. Ancillary revenue represented 41% of total operating revenue. Finally, total operating revenue per passenger stood at $92, representing an increase of 0.7%.

Volaris posted total operating expenses of $2,803 million, representing 98% of total operating revenue, compared to 82% in 2021: a 16pp increase, mainly driven by higher fuel prices.

CASM increased 23% to $7.95 cents. The average economic fuel cost of $3.80 per gallon, a 68% increase compared to 2021 levels.

CASM ex fuel increased 0.3% to $4.26 cents and adjusted CASM ex fuel decreased 0.4% to $3.97 cents.

For the full year 2022, Volaris reported a comprehensive financing expense of $170 million as compared to the expense of $260 million posted in 2021. The average exchange rate was Ps.20.12 per US dollar, a 0.8% appreciation compared to 2021. At the end of the period, the exchange rate stood at Ps.19.36 per US dollar.

Income tax benefit for the full year 2022 was $96 million, compared to an expense of $31 million registered in 2021.

For the full year 2022, Volaris reported a net loss of $30 million, with a loss per share of $0.03 and loss per ADS of $0.26.

Volaris registered an EBITDAR of $586 million, a 27% decrease compared to 2021, primarily attributable to the rise in fuel prices. EBITDAR margin was 20.6%, a decrease of 16.1 percentage points.

Balance Sheet, Liquidity and Capital Allocation

As of December 31, 2022, cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash were $712 million, representing 25% of the last twelve months total operating revenue.

Net cash flow provided by operating activities was $614 million, while cash outflows used in investing and financing activities were $131 million and $513 million, respectively.

Financial debt and leasing liabilities totaled $273 million and $2,709 million, respectively, less $712 million of cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash, resulted in net debt of $2,270 million.

Net debt-to-LTM EBITDAR ratio stood at 3.9 times, compared to 2.5 times in the same period of 2021 and 3.4 times in the third quarter of 2022.

2023 Guidance

The Company expects to execute its growth plans, despite potential global macroeconomic and geopolitical challenges, while continuing to service the robust demand seen within its current network.

For the full year 2023, the Company expects:

*Already considering expected aircraft manufacturer delays and the availability of spare engines.

For the full year 2023, CAPEX is expected to be approximately $300 million, net of financed fleet predelivery payments. This outlook assumes a full-year average USD/MXN rate between Ps.19.25 to Ps. 19.75 and an average U.S. Gulf Coast jet fuel price between $3.00 to $3.10 per gallon; it also assumes no significant unexpected disruptions related to COVID-19, macroeconomic factors, or other negative impacts on its business.

The Company's Full Year 2023 Outlook is based on a number of assumptions, including the foregoing, that are subject to change and may be outside the control of the Company. If actual results vary from these assumptions, the Company's expectations may change. There can be no assurances that Volaris will achieve these results.

Fleet

During the fourth quarter, Volaris added four A321neo and one A320neo aircraft to its fleet, bringing the total number of aircraft to 117 as of December 31, 2022. The fleet consisted of four A319s, 88 A320s, and 25 A321s, with an average age of 5.4 years and an average seating capacity of 192 passengers per aircraft. Of the total fleet, 54% of the aircraft were New Engine Option (NEO) models. Volaris plans to increase its fleet to approximately 125 aircraft by the end of 2023.

Investors are urged to carefully read the Company's periodic reports filed with or provided to the Securities and Exchange Commission, for additional information regarding the Company.

Investor Relations Contact:
Ricardo Martínez / [email protected]

Media Contact:
Gabriela Fernández / [email protected]

Conference call and webcast details                              

About Volaris

*Controladora Vuela Compañía de Aviación, S.A.B. de C.V. ("Volaris" or the "Company") (NYSE: VLRS and BMV: VOLAR), is an ultra-low-cost carrier, with point-to-point operations, serving Mexico, the United States, Central and South America. Volaris offers low base fares to build its market, providing quality service and extensive customer choice. Since the beginning of operations in March 2006, Volaris has increased its routes from 5 to more than 200 and its fleet from 4 to 121 aircraft. Volaris offers more than 550 daily flight segments on routes that connect 43 cities in Mexico and 28 cities in the United States, Central and South America with the youngest fleet in Mexico. Volaris targets passengers who are visiting friends and relatives, cost-conscious business and leisure travelers in Mexico, the United States, Central and South America. Volaris has received the ESR Award for Social Corporate Responsibility for eleven consecutive years. For more information, please visit: www.volaris.com.

Forward-looking Statements

Statements in this release contain various forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the US Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the US Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, which represent the Company's expectations, beliefs or projections concerning future events and financial trends affecting the financial condition of our business. When used in this release, the words "expects," "intends," "estimates," "predicts," "plans," "anticipates," "indicates," "believes," "forecast," "guidance," "potential," "outlook," "may," "continue," "will," "should," "seeks," "targets" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Similarly, statements that describe the Company's objectives, plans or goals, or actions the Company may take in the future, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements regarding the Company's full year outlook and intentions and expectations regarding the delivery schedule of aircraft on order, amount of aircrafts at year end, amount of forward bookings during the holiday season, ability to maintain the load factor, announced new service routes and customer savings programs. Forward-looking statements should not be read as a guarantee or assurance of future performance or results and will not necessarily be accurate indications of the times at, or by, which such performance or results will be achieved. Forward-looking statements are based on information available at the time those statements are made and/or management's good faith belief as of that time with respect to future events and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual performance or results to differ materially from those expressed in or suggested by the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are subject to several factors that could cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from the Company's expectations, including the competitive environment in the airline industry; the Company's ability to keep costs low; changes in fuel costs; the impact of worldwide economic conditions on customer travel behavior; the Company's ability to generate non-ticket revenue; and government regulation. Additional information concerning these, and other factors is contained in the Company's US Securities and Exchange Commission filings. All forward-looking statements attributable to us or persons acting on our behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements set forth above. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this release. You should not put undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. We assume no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect actual results, changes in assumptions or changes in other factors affecting forward-looking information, except to the extent required by applicable law. If we update one or more forward-looking statements, no inference should be drawn that we will make additional updates with respect to those or other forward-looking statements.

Supplemental information on non-IFRS measures

We evaluate our financial performance by using various financial measures that are not performance measures under International Financial Reporting Standards ("non-IFRS measures"). These non-IFRS measures include CASM, CASM ex-fuel, Adjusted CASM ex-fuel, EBITDAR and Net debt-to-LTM EBITDAR. We define CASM as total operating expenses by available seat mile. We define CASM ex-fuel as total operating expenses by available seat mile, excluding fuel expense. We define Adjusted CASM ex fuel as total operating expenses by available seat mile, excluding fuel expense, aircraft and engine variable lease expenses and sale and lease back gains. We define EBITDAR as earnings before interest, income tax, depreciation and amortization, depreciation of right of use assets and aircraft and engine variable lease expenses. We define Net debt-to-LTM EBITDAR as Net debt divided by LTM EBITDAR.

These non-IFRS measures are provided as supplemental information to the financial information presented in this release that is calculated and presented in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRS"), because we believe that they, in conjunction with the IFRS financial information, provide useful information to management's, analysts' and investors' overall understanding of our operating performance.

Because non-IFRS measures are not calculated in accordance with IFRS, they should not be considered superior to and are not intended to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for the related IFRS measures presented in this release and may not be the same as or comparable to similarly titled measures presented by other companies due to possible differences in the method of calculation and in the items being adjusted.

We encourage investors to review our financial statements and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission in their entirety for additional information regarding the Company and not to rely on any single financial measure.

Controladora Vuela Compañía de Aviación, S.A.B. de C.V. and Subsidiaries

Financial and Operating Indicators*
(All metrics are compared to 2021 unless otherwise noted)

Controladora Vuela Compañía de Aviación, S.A.B. de C.V. and Subsidiaries

Financial and Operating Indicators*
(All metrics are compared to 2021 unless otherwise noted)

Controladora Vuela Compañía de Aviación, S.A.B. de C.V. and Subsidiaries

Consolidated Statement of Operations*
(All metrics are compared to 2021 unless otherwise noted)

Controladora Vuela Compañía de Aviación, S.A.B. de C.V. and Subsidiaries

Consolidated Statement of Operations*
(All metrics are compared to 2021 unless otherwise noted)

Controladora Vuela Compañía de Aviación, S.A.B. de C.V. and Subsidiaries

Reconciliation of total ancillary revenue per passenger*
(All metrics are compared to 2021 unless otherwise noted)

The following table shows quarterly additional detail about the components of total ancillary revenue:

Controladora Vuela Compañía de Aviación, S.A.B. de C.V. and Subsidiaries

Reconciliation of total ancillary revenue per passenger*
(All metrics are compared to 2021 unless otherwise noted)

The following table shows the twelve months of the year additional detail about the components of total ancillary revenue:

*As of January 1, 2022, all financial figures are reported in US dollars.
(1) Includes schedule and charter.

Controladora Vuela Compañía de Aviación, S.A.B. de C.V. and Subsidiaries

Consolidated Statement of Financial Position*
(All metrics are compared to 2021 unless otherwise noted)

Controladora Vuela Compañía de Aviación, S.A.B. de C.V. and Subsidiaries

Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows – Cash Flow Data Summary*
(All metrics are compared to 2021 unless otherwise noted)

Controladora Vuela Compañía de Aviación, S.A.B. de C.V. and Subsidiaries

Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows – Cash Flow Data Summary*
(All metrics are compared to 2021 unless otherwise noted)

¹ The financial information, unless otherwise indicated, is presented in accordance with the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).
² As of January 1, 2022, all figures are reported in U.S. dollars.
³ As of January 1, 2022, all figures are reported in U.S. dollars.
⁴ As of January 1, 2022, all figures are reported in U.S. dollars.
⁵ Aircraft redeliveries.

SOURCE Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion, S.A.B. de C.V. - Volaris