Copa Holdings, S.A. (CPA), today announced financial results for the first quarter of 2019 (1Q19). 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 first quarter of 2018 (1Q18).

OPERATING AND FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

Copa Holdings reported net profit of US$89.4 million for 1Q19 or earnings per share (EPS) of US$2.11, as compared to net profit of US$136.6 million or earnings per share of US$3.22 in 1Q18.
Operating profit for 1Q19 came in at US$112.9 million, representing a 23.6% decrease from operating profit of US$147.6 million in 1Q18, as a result of a 7.7% decrease in unit revenues (RASM), partly offset by a 3.2% improvement in unit costs (CASM). Operating margin for 1Q19 came in at 16.8%, compared to an operating margin of 20.6% in 1Q18.
For 1Q19, consolidated passenger traffic grew 2.3% while consolidated capacity grew 1.9%. As a result, consolidated load factor for the quarter increased 0.4 percentage points to 83.3%.
Total revenues for 1Q19 decreased 6.0% to US$672 million. Yield per passenger mile decreased 8.8% to 12.1 cents and RASM came in at 10.5 cents, or 7.7% lower than 1Q18.
Operating cost per available seat mile (CASM) decreased 3.2%, from 9.0 cents in 1Q18 to 8.7 cents in 1Q19. CASM excluding fuel costs decreased 2.9% from 6.2 cents in 1Q18 to 6.1 cents in 1Q19, mainly as a result of maintenance events related to aircraft lease returns in 2018.
Cash, short-term and long-term investments ended the quarter at US$ 897.4 million, representing 34% of the last twelve months' revenues.
For 1Q19, Copa Airlines had an on-time performance of 93.0% and a flight-completion factor of 99.8%, maintaining its position among the best in the industry.
Copa Holdings ended the quarter with a consolidated fleet of 105 aircraft – 6 Boeing 737MAX9s, 68 Boeing 737-800s, 14 Boeing 737-700s, and 17 Embraer-190s.
The Company did not take delivery of the two B737-MAX9s that were scheduled for the month of March due to the world-wide grounding of the MAX fleet.
Subsequent Events

Copa Holdings will pay its second quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share on June 14, to all Class A and Class B shareholders on record as of May 31, 2019.