Avianca Group announces third quarter 2023 financial results

• $363.1 million in EBITDAR and $82.1 million in Net Income.
• Strengthened balance sheet: $975.6 million in total liquidity.
• The strong operational performance enabled robust financial results in a seasonally strong quarter challenged by macroeconomic pressures.

Bogota, Colombia, November 10, 2023 – Avianca Group International Limited affiliated passenger airlines (“AGIL” or “the Group”) today reported third quarter 2023 results. The Company reported $363.1 million in EBITDAR. After adjusting for an extraordinary item, EBITDAR was $342.2 million at a 26.7% margin, exceeding Business Plan projections by $63.7 million. Strong passenger revenue performance during the quarter resulted in a $7.3 cent passenger revenue per available seat kilometer; a 33.0% increase relative to Business Plan projections. Passenger Cost per Available Seat Kilometer excluding fuel (Pax CASK ex-fuel) was $3.9 cents for the third quarter of 2023: a 11.1% year-on-year decrease.

“We continued our strong Business Plan execution despite a challenging environment marked by significant volatility in jet fuel price and regional currencies, as well as enduring inflation. I take great pride in the remarkable work carried out by the Avianca team to successfully transform the company, which clearly resonated on our quarter’s results, from the operational and financial perspective, despite the challenges we have faced,” said Adrian Neuhauser, Avianca’s Chief Executive Officer, and Deputy CEO of ABRA.  

He continued, "During the quarter, with nearly two transformational years since our successful Chapter 11 exit and 104 years in operation, we launched our corporate rebranding under the slogan ‘the sky belongs to everyone.’ With this, we embrace the lower-case ‘a’ as a symbol of our reinvigorated company. Our brand now honors our impressive history yet also represents who we are today: a renewed Avianca that’s friendly, agile, accessible, attentive, and cheerful”.

Frederico Pedreira, Avianca’s Deputy Chief Executive Officer, added, “We are also very proud to have been recognized by Cirium as the world’s most punctual airline for August and September. I would like to acknowledge the unwavering dedication of the entire Avianca team to providing a safe, consistent, and reliable service."

Third Quarter 2023 Highlights

• AGIL’s consolidated capacity, measured in Available Seat Kilometers (ASK), reached 14,549.0 million in the third quarter 2023; a 31.5% year-on-year in The Group transported 8.5 million passengers during the period, representing a 30.3% yearly increase.
• Third quarter 2023 total operating revenue reached $1,281.5 million; a 13.5% year on year increase. Total third quarter 2023 operating expense was $1,069.3 million, only a 3.4% year-on-year increase, though capacity increased by 31.5%, due to the continued focus on cost optimization. EBITDAR was $363.1 million and when excluding an extraordinary item, was $342.2 million, representing a 26.7% margin.
• AGIL ended the quarter with a strong balance sheet: $975.6 million in total liquidity.
• Passenger revenues during the quarter reached $1,055.4 million, reflecting a 24.1% year-on-year increase driven by robust market demand.
• Cargo and Loyalty revenues were $217.0 million. LifeMiles Cash EBITDA increased by 2.9% year on year. Cargo revenues decreased 28.1% relative to last year due to market softening, though above Business Plan projections.
• Net Debt to LTM EBITDAR was 3.3x in spite of indebtedness from incremental fleet that was not yet flying during the quarter.
• Passenger Costs per Available Seat Kilometer excluding fuel (PAX CASK ex-fuel) during the third quarter of 2023 was $3.9 cents, a 11.1% decrease year on year, despite a continued challenging macroeconomic environment. The Company maintains its fourth quarter 2023 PAX CASK ex-fuel guidance between $3.7 cents and $3.8 cents, reflecting a strong cost control discipline that enables the Group to be profitable in the long term with this new business model that has generated positive results over the last 21 months.
• AGIL ended the third quarter of 2023 with an operating passenger fleet comprised of 127 aircraft: 114 Airbus 320 family aircraft, and 13 Boeing 787s. In addition, the company has signed long-term leases for 11 A320s and 3 Boeing 787s that will enter the operating fleet in the coming months.
• The Group continued executing its point-to-point network strategy, adding three new destinations during the quarter, and have launched twelve new point-to-point routes, year to date.
• The aircraft being added to the operating fleet will provide greater connectivity to Colombia and its regions, Ecuador and Central America, which means 5,200 additional flights per week and 937,000 seats per week, representing a 24% increase in seating capacity throughout our network.
• Cirium, an industry leader in aviation analytics, recognized Avianca Group as the world’s most on-time airline for August and September, with an On-Time Performance (OTP) of 86.9% and 89.9%, respectively. AGIL’s average OTP was 86.9% during the third quarter 2023.
• During the quarter the airline completed its corporate rebranding, replacing the Company’s use of its uppercase “A” within its name with the use of the lowercase “a”, as a symbol of a company that ceased to be for a few and now is for all.

About Avianca Group

AVIANCA includes Avianca – a Star Alliance member-, LifeMiles and Avianca Cargo. In passenger transportation, Avianca, with more than 103 years of continuous 006Fperation since 1919, is the leading airline in Colombia, Ecuador, Central America and has one of the largest air operations in Latin America with more than 130 routes, 3,800 weekly flights and a fleet of 128 Airbus 320 and Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft, connecting to around 65 destinations in 24 countries in the Americas and Europe. In 2022, Avianca carried 24.6 million passengers with the operation of more than 187,000 flights. Its loyalty program, LifeMiles, is one of the largest in Latin America with more than 12.4 million members and 500 allied brands. In cargo transportation, Avianca Cargo is a leader in the region and is the main operator in different markets in the Americas. It serves more than 50 destinations with a fleet of Airbus 330 freighters, in addition to operating bellies in passenger aircraft. In 2022, Avianca Cargo transported more than 450,000 tons of cargo. Avianca today has a team of more than 13,000 people committed to providing safe, convenient, affordable and friendly service to its customers. More information at www.avianca.com