VLRS - Volaris Reports Financial Results for the Third Quarter 2023

MEXICO CITY, Oct. 24, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- 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 third quarter 2023 ¹ .

Third Quarter 2023 Highlights
(All figures are reported in U.S. dollars and compared to 3Q 2022 unless otherwise noted)

• Total operating revenues of $848 million, a 10% increase.
• Total revenue per available seat mile (TRASM) increased 1.8% to $8.37 cents.
• Available seat miles (ASMs) increased 8.2% to 10.1 billion.
• Total operating expenses of $809 million, representing 95% of total operating revenue.
• Total operating expenses per available seat mile (CASM) increased 1.7% to $7.98 cents.
• Average economic fuel cost decreased 20% to $3.17 per gallon.
• CASM ex fuel increased 21% to $4.91 cents.
• Adjusted CASM ex fuel increased 20% to $4.49 cents.
• Net loss of $39 million. Loss per share of $0.03 and loss per ADS of $0.34 cents.
• EBITDAR of $207 million, an 18% increase.
• EBITDAR margin was 24.4%, an increase of 1.6 percentage points.
• Total cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash, and short-term investments totaled $764 million, representing 24% of the last twelve months’ total operating revenue.
• Net debt-to-LTM EBITDAR ² ratio of 3.5 times, remaining unchanged when compared to the previous quarter.
  

Enrique Beltranena, President & Chief Executive Officer, said: “Volaris' performance in the third quarter showed resilience, resulting in revenue growth. This growth was mainly due to increased passenger volumes and record-high ancillary revenue per passenger. We achieved this by maintaining strong cost control, especially when it came to non-fuel expenses.

Despite facing challenges related to Pratt & Whitney's GTF preventive accelerated inspections, Volaris is fully committed to ensuring the safety, financial stability, and long-term success of our airline. We are actively addressing the global issue of engine inspections affecting multiple airlines and are working closely with Pratt & Whitney to obtain the necessary technical support and financial compensation for the affected engines.

We’ve developed a mitigation plan to partially offset the impact. Our focus for 2024 is to maximize unit revenues and margins while optimizing our network to the best extent possible given the current environment.”

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1 The financial information, unless otherwise indicated, is presented in accordance with the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).
2 Includes short-term investments.}

Third Quarter 2023 Consolidated Financial and Operating Highlights
(All figures are reported in U.S. dollars and compared to 3Q 2022 unless otherwise noted)

Reconciliation of CASM to Adjusted CASM ex fuel:

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^{Note: Figures are rounded for convenience purposes. Further detail can be found in financial and operating indicators.
3 Excludes fuel expense, aircraft and engine variable lease expenses and sale and lease-back gains.
4 Includes short-term investments.
5 Aircraft redeliveries.}

Total operating revenues in the quarter were $848 million, a 10% increase driven by robust demand across our network and a rise in ancillary revenue per passenger.

Booked passengers amounted to 8.7 million in the quarter, an increase of 7.0%. Domestic and international booked passengers increased 2.8% and 24%, respectively. Total capacity, in terms of available seat miles (ASMs) , increased 8.2% to 10.1 billion.

The load factor for the quarter reached 86.4%, representing an increase of 0.7 percentage points compared to the same period in 2022.

TRASM increased 1.8% to $8.37 cents in the quarter, helped by a stronger peso. The average base fare was $48, a decrease of 13%. Ancillary revenue per passenger was $49, a 26% increase. Ancillary revenue represented 50% of total operating revenue, 9.3 percentage points above the third quarter 2022. Finally, total operating revenue per passenger stood at $98, representing a 3.0% increase.

Total operating expenses in the quarter were $809 million, representing 95% of total operating revenue, remaining consistent with the same quarter in 2022.

CASM totaled $7.98 cents, a 1.7% increase when compared to the same period of 2022. The average economic fuel cost decreased 20% to $3.17 per gallon in the period.

CASM ex fuel increased 21% to $4.91 cents and adjusted CASM ex fuel increased 20% to $4.49 cents, primarily driven by a strong appreciation of the Mexican peso compared to the prior year.

Comprehensive financing result represented an expense of $73 million in the third quarter of 2023, compared to a $44 million expense in the same period of 2022. For the period, the average exchange rate was Ps.17.06 per U.S. dollar, a 16% appreciation compared to the same quarter of 2022. At the end of the third quarter, the exchange rate stood at Ps.17.62 per U.S. dollar.

Income tax expense for the quarter was $5 million, compared to a benefit of $49 million registered in the same period of 2022.

Net loss in the quarter was $39 million, with a loss per share of $0.03 and a loss per ADS of $0.34 cents.

EBITDAR for the quarter was $207 million, an increase of 18% compared to the same period in 2022. EBITDAR margin stood at 24.4%, an increase of 1.6 percentage points compared to the same quarter of the previous year.

Balance Sheet and Cash Flow

Total cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash, and short-term investments totaled $764 million, representing 24% of the last twelve months’ total operating revenue.

Net cash flow provided by operating and financing activities in the quarter was $145 million and $87 million, respectively. Net cash flow used in investing activities amounted to $138 million.

Net debt-to-LTM EBITDAR ⁶ ratio stood at 3.5 times, in line with the second quarter of 2023 and 0.4 times lower when compared to the end of 2022.

2023 Guidance

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 of approximately Ps.17.75 and an average U.S. Gulf Coast jet fuel price of approximately $2.80 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 several assumptions, including the foregoing, which 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 third quarter, Volaris added two A321neo aircraft to its fleet, bringing the total number of aircraft to 125 as of September 30th, 2023. At the end of the quarter, Volaris’ fleet has an average age of 5.6 years and an average seating capacity of 194 passengers per aircraft. Of the total fleet, 58% of the aircraft are New Engine Option (NEO) models. Volaris plans to increase its fleet to approximately 127 aircraft by the end of 2023, considering an Airbus potential delay of at least two aircraft until 2024.

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^{6 Includes short-term investments.}

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 / ir@volaris.com

Media Contact:
Israel Álvarez / ialvarez@gcya.net

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 245 and its fleet from 4 to 126 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 fourteen consecutive years. For more information, please visit: ir.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-GAAP 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, Net debt-to-LTM EBITDAR and Total cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash, and short-term investments. 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. We define Total cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash, and short-term investments as the sum of cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash, and short-term investments.

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

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

Financial and Operating Indicators

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

Consolidated Statement of Operations

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

Consolidated Statement of Operations

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

Reconciliation of Total Ancillary Revenue per Passenger

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

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

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

Consolidated Statement of Financial Position

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

Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows – Cash Flow Data Summary

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

Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows – Cash Flow Data Summary