Copa posts Q4 profit but takes Omicron hit in Q1

Copa Holdings, parent of Panama City-based Copa Airlines, posted a profit for the fourth quarter of 2021 but says the Omicron variant of Covid-19 will negatively affect first-quarter earnings. The company says on 10 February that it earned a profit of $114.4m in the final three months of 2021, compared to a $2.7m in the same quarter in 2019. For the full year, the carrier’s profit was $39.9m, compared to $247m in 2019. Total revenue for the quarter fell to $575m, down from $681.9m in 2019. In the full year 2021, Copa reported $1.5b in revenue, compared to $2.7b in 2019. “In the fourth quarter we delivered our strongest quarterly financial result since the beginning of the pandemic,” says CE Pedro Heilbron. But like its peers across the hemisphere, Copa has faced the challenge of navigating the ups and downs of recovery. “Despite the company’s positive financial results during the fourth quarter, the first quarter of 2022 has been challenging given the recent surge in Covid-19 cases in the Americas, mainly driven by the Omicron variant,” Heilbron adds. “As has been observed in other regions of the world, the company currently believes that the impact of Omicron will be temporary and that the recovery of international air travel demand should resume later in the first quarter.”. Copa reduced capacity 4% in January and February, cancelling 1,000 flights, and expects load factors will be less than in the previous quarter. The airline expects revenue of about $550 million in the first quarter, or about 82% of revenue in the first quarter of pre-pandemic 2019.<br/>