Volaris Reports Financial Results for the Fourth Quarter 2024: Net Income of $46 million

Core Viewpoint - Controladora Vuela Compañía de Aviación, S.A.B. de C.V. (Volaris) reported its financial results for Q4 and full year 2024, highlighting a challenging year with engine inspections impacting operations, yet achieving significant profitability improvements and operational efficiency [2][6][20]. Financial Performance - For Q4 2024, total operating revenues were $835 million, a 7.1% decrease from Q4 2023, primarily due to currency depreciation and reduced available seat miles (ASMs) [11][12]. - The company achieved a net income of $46 million in Q4 2024, down 58.9% from $112 million in Q4 2023, with earnings per American Depositary Shares (ADS) of $0.40 [15][37]. - Full year 2024 net income was $126 million, significantly up from $8 million in 2023, with earnings per ADS of $1.10 [20][51]. - EBITDAR for Q4 2024 was $331 million, an increase of 17.8%, with an EBITDAR margin of 39.6%, up 8.4 percentage points [15][19]. Operational Metrics - Available seat miles (ASMs) decreased by 5.0% in Q4 2024 to 8.9 billion, while total capacity for the full year decreased by 12.6% to 34.0 billion [11][17]. - The load factor for Q4 2024 was 87.3%, a slight decrease of 0.8 percentage points compared to Q4 2023 [12][39]. - The average economic fuel cost decreased by 19.9% to $2.51 per gallon in Q4 2024 [13][39]. Cost Management - Total operating expenses for Q4 2024 were $718 million, a 2.3% decrease from Q4 2023, with operating expenses per available seat mile (CASM) increasing by 2.9% to $8.04 [11][37]. - CASM excluding fuel increased by 16.8% to $5.68, attributed to reduced operating leverage due to aircraft groundings [14][19]. Future Outlook - For 2025, Volaris anticipates a capacity growth of approximately 13%, while maintaining a focus on profitability and operational efficiency [4][24]. - The company expects EBITDAR margin to range between 34% to 36% for 2025, down from 36.3% in 2024 [24][25]. - The average exchange rate for 2025 is projected to be between Ps. 21.00 to 21.20 per U.S. dollar, reflecting a depreciation from the previous year [24][25]. Fleet and Capacity - As of Q4 2024, Volaris' fleet consisted of 143 aircraft, an increase of 14 from the previous year, with an average age of 6.4 years [27][28]. - The company added five new aircraft during the fourth quarter, enhancing its operational capacity [27].