CPA - Why Shares of Copa Holdings Are Down Today
Shares of Copa Holdings (NYSE: CPA) fell more than 12% on Monday after the Central American airline reported preliminary first-quarter results. The first quarter wasn't as bad as some had feared, but Copa warned that conditions have gotten significantly worse for the airline and the industry since the quarter ended.
In a regulatory filing Monday, Copa said it expects to report an operating profit of $98.7 million on revenue of $595.5 million, with revenue down 11.4% year over year. The airline said it has about $1.13 billion in cash on its balance sheet as of March 31 and intends to "postpone" payment of its dividend for the remainder of the year.
The results are likely to be far worse in the second quarter. Copa, like all airlines, has been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has caused demand for air travel to plummet overnight. Copa's core markets have been hit particularly hard: On March 16, Panama suspended all international fights until at least May 22, and in Colombia, international travel is prohibited and domestic travel is restricted until at least May 30.