CPA Q4 2021 Earnings

Call Details

• Call Title: Copa Airlines Q4 2021 Earnings Call
• Date: February 10, 2022
• Management Team:
  • Daniel Amir (VP and Head of Investor Relations)
  • Pedro Heilbron (Chief Executive Officer)
  • Jose Montero (Chief Financial Officer)

Call Summary

Financial Performance

• Reported net profit for Q4 2021 was $114.4 million, or $2.69 per share.
• Excluding special items, Q4 2021 net profit would have been $84.1 million, or $1.98 per share.
• Reported operating profit for Q4 2021 was $155 million, and adjusted operating profit excluding a $39.2 million reversal was $115.8 million for the quarter.
• Reported operating margin for Q4 2021 was 27%, and adjusted operating margin excluding special items was 20.1%.
• Capacity in Q4 2021 was 5.1 billion ASMs, which is 83% of Q4 2019 ASMs, and load factor averaged 83.5%, up 4.2 percentage points versus Q3 2021.
• Yield for Q4 2021 came in at 12.7 cents, which is up 5.8% compared to Q3 2021.
• Cargo revenues in Q4 2021 were over 60% higher than Q4 2019 levels.
• Cash buildup in Q4 2021 was approximately $84 million, and full-year 2021 cash buildup was $133 million.

Guidance

• Q1 2022 capacity is expected to be approximately 88% of Q1 2019 levels, or about 5.7 billion ASMs.
• Q1 2022 operating margin guidance is in the range of 3% to 6%.
• Q1 2022 revenue is expected to be approximately 82% of Q1 2019 levels, or approximately $550 million.
• Q1 2022 CASM ex-fuel is expected to be approximately $0.06 per ASM.
• The company assumes an all-in fuel price of $2.79 per gallon for Q1 2022, which management stated is an increase of approximately 15% compared to Q4 2021 average fuel price.
• Preliminary full-year 2022 expectations include capacity at approximately 93% of 2019 ASMs and CASM ex-fuel of about 5.9 cents, while full-year guidance was described as premature given current volatility.