Volaris Reports Financial Results for the Third Quarter 2024: EBITDAR of USD $315 million, a 52% increase

MEXICO CITY, Oct. 22, 2024 (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 carrier (ULCC) serving Mexico, the United States, Central and South America, today reports its unaudited financial results for the third quarter of 2024¹.

Third Quarter 2024 Highlights
(All figures are reported in U.S. dollars and compared to 3Q 2023 unless otherwise noted)

• Net income of $37 million. Earnings per American Depositary Shares (ADS) of $32 cents.
• Total operating revenues of $813 million, a 4% decrease.
• Total revenue per available seat mile (TRASM) increased 12% to $9.38 cents.
• Available seat miles (ASMs) decreased by 14% to 8.7 billion.
• Total operating expenses of $687 million, representing 85% of total operating revenue.
• Total operating expenses per available seat mile (CASM) remained relatively flat at $7.92 cents.
• Average economic fuel cost decreased 17% to $2.64 per gallon.
• CASM ex fuel increased 10% to $5.39 cents.
• EBITDAR of $315 million, a 52% increase.
• EBITDAR margin was 38.7%, an increase of 14 percentage points.
• Total cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash, and short-term investments totaled $830 million, representing 26% of the last twelve months’ total operating revenue.
• Net debt-to-LTM EBITDAR² ratio decreased to 2.7x, compared to 2.9x in the previous quarter.

Enrique Beltranena, President & Chief Executive Officer, said: “Volaris’ third quarter results demonstrate the resilience of our business model and our focus on execution as we have successfully navigated one year of Pratt & Whitney’s engine inspections. Despite the challenges, we delivered our fourth consecutive quarter of net income and generated Total Operating Revenues of $3.2 billion U.S. dollars for the last twelve months, matching the full-year revenues of 2023. We strategically managed capacity while providing great ULCC service to our customers and reinforcing our position as the preferred airline in our core markets. Booking trends continue to show strength throughout the fall and the holiday high season, therefore we remain committed to achieving our updated full-year guidance.”

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 2024 Consolidated Financial and Operating Highlights
(All figures are reported in U.S. dollars and compared to 3Q 2023 unless otherwise noted)

Reconciliation of CASM to Adjusted CASM ex fuel:

Third Quarter 2024
(All figures are reported in U.S. dollars and compared to 3Q 2023 unless otherwise noted)

Total operating revenues amounted to $813 million in the quarter, driven by an increase in base fares and ancillary revenue per passenger. This represents only a 4.1% decrease, despite a double-digit reduction in total capacity resulting from aircraft-on-ground (AOGs) due to Pratt & Whitney’s (P&W) engine inspections.

Total capacity, in terms of available seat miles (ASMs), was 8.7 billion, representing a 14.4% reduction.

Booked passengers totaled 7.6 million, a 12.4% decrease. Mexican domestic booked passengers decreased 16.0%, while international booked passengers remained practically unchanged year-over-year.

The load factor for the quarter reached 87.4%, representing an increase of 1.0 percentage point.

TRASM rose 12.0% to $9.38 cents, and total operating revenue per passenger stood at $107, representing a 9.4% increase.

The average base fare per passenger stood at $53, a 9.3% increase. The total ancillary revenue per passenger was $54, reflecting a 9.6% improvement. Ancillary revenue accounted for 50.4% of total operating revenue.

Total operating expenses were $687 million, representing 84.5% of total operating revenue.

CASM totaled $7.92 cents, representing a 0.8% decrease.

The average economic fuel cost decreased by 16.6% to $2.64 per gallon.

CASM ex fuel increased 9.9% to $5.39 cents, mainly due to reduced operating leverage as a result of the AOGs caused by the P&W engine inspections, with an average of 34 aircraft-on-ground during the quarter.

Comprehensive financing result represented an expense of $46 million, compared to a $73 million expense in the same period of 2023.

Income tax expense was $43 million, compared to a $5 million expense registered in the third quarter of 2023.

Net income in the quarter was $37 million, with an earnings per ADS of $32 cents, compared to a $39 million net loss in the same period of 2023.

EBITDAR for the quarter was $315 million, a 52.2% improvement, primarily driven by solid unit revenues, strict cost control, and more favorable jet fuel prices. EBITDAR margin stood at 38.7%, up by 14.3 percentage points.

Balance Sheet, Liquidity, and Capital Allocation

For the quarter, net cash flow provided by operating activities was $233 million. Net cash flow used in investing and financing activities was $149 million and $54 million, respectively.

As of September 30, 2024, cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash, and short-term investments were $830 million, representing 25.9% of the last twelve months’ total operating revenue.

The financial debt amounted to $740 million, an increase of 30.5% year-over-year, due to predelivery payments related to 2026 aircraft deliveries and spare engine financing. Total lease liabilities stood at $2,986 million, an increase of 5.7% due to the increase in the total fleet.

Net debt-to-LTM EBITDAR⁶ ratio stood at 2.7x, compared to 2.9x in the previous quarter and 3.5x in the same period of 2023.

The average exchange rate for the period was Ps.18.92 per U.S. dollar and Ps.19.63 per U.S. dollar at the end of the third quarter, reflecting depreciations of 10.9% and 11.4% of the Mexican peso, respectively.

⁶ Includes short-term investments.

2024 Guidance

For the fourth quarter of 2024, the Company expects:

^{(1) For convenience purposes, actual reported figures for 4Q’23 are included.}

For the full year 2024, the Company expects:

^{(2) CAPEX net of financed fleet predelivery payments.}

The fourth quarter and full year 2024 outlook presented above includes the compensation that Volaris expects to receive for the projected grounded aircraft resulting from the GTF engine inspections, in accordance with the Company’s agreement with Pratt & Whitney.

The Company’s outlook is subject to unforeseen disruptions, macroeconomic factors, or other negative impacts that may affect its business and is based on several assumptions, including the foregoing, which are subject to change and may be outside the control of the Company and its management. The Company’s expectations may change if actual results vary from these assumptions. There can be no assurances that Volaris will achieve these results.

Fleet

During the third quarter, Volaris added one A320neo aircraft to its fleet, bringing the total number of aircraft to 137. At the end of the quarter, Volaris’ fleet had an average age of 6.3 years and an average seating capacity of 197 passengers per aircraft. Of the total fleet, 60% of the aircraft are New Engine Option (NEO) models.

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 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 220 and its fleet from 4 to 138 aircraft. Volaris offers more than 450 daily flight segments on routes that connect 44 cities in Mexico and 29 cities in the United States, Central and South America, with one of the youngest fleets 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 fifteen consecutive years. For more information, please visit ir.volaris.com. Volaris routinely posts information that may be important to investors on its investor relations website. The Company encourages investors and potential investors to consult the Volaris website regularly for important information about Volaris.

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 describing the Company’s objectives, plans or goals, or actions the Company may take in the future are forward-looking. Forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements regarding the Company’s outlook, the expectation of receiving certain compensation in connection with the GTF engine removals, and the anticipated execution of its business plan and focus on its priorities. Forward-looking statements should not be read as a guarantee or assurance of future performance or results. They 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 concerning 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. The Company’s US Securities and Exchange Commission filings contain additional information concerning these and other factors. 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-IFRS 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, 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 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.