By Gabriel Araujo
SAO PAULO (Reuters) -Brazilian airline Gol on Thursday reported a narrower third-quarter net loss on a yearly basis even as it was heavily hit by currency swings in the period, and provided some updated forecasts for 2022 in order to reflect its current scenario.
Shares of Gol rose more than 7% after its earnings report, making it one of the top gainers on Brazil’s benchmark Bovespa stock index, which was up 0.8%.
Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes SA, as the company is formally known, posted a net loss of 1.55 billion reais ($287.84 million) in the quarter ended in September, narrowing from a loss of 2.52 billion reais in the same period last year.
The company said the bottom line was affected by foreign exchange losses, which reached a total 738 million reais in the quarter.
On the other hand, the carrier managed to deliver a record quarterly net revenue, more than doubling from a year ago to 4.0 billion reais and also above pre-pandemic levels.
“A major third-quarter beat,” Santander analysts said, highlighting a greater-than-expected Passenger Revenue per Available Seat Kilometer (PRASK) expansion in the quarter that drove the strong top-line performance.
Gol also updated some of its full-year forecasts to reflect higher jet fuel prices, current ticket sale levels and this year’s results so far, the company said. Santander dubbed the move a “minor 2022 guidance cut.”
The Brazilian airline said it now expects its EBITDA, or earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization, margin to reach 19% in 2022, from 20% in the previous estimate. It also increased its leverage outlook for the year, pegging the net debt/EBITDA ratio at 9.0 from a previous forecast of 8.0.
Gol kept its full-year net revenue forecast unchanged at 15.4 billion reais and said diluted earnings per share are expected to come in at zero. The capital expenditure outlook was lowered to 650 million reais from 700 million.
($1 = 5.3849 reais)
(Reporting by Gabriel Araujo; Editing by Steven Grattan and Paul Simao)