Brazil airline Gol sees wider 2018 loss, 2019 recovery

Brazil’s largest airline, Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes, on Friday forecast 2018 losses at least 45% larger than previously forecast, adding that it expects to restore profitability this year by a wider-than-expected margin. Gol and its competitors struggled during the first three quarters of 2018 due to weak emerging market currencies and high oil prices. That trend, however, reversed in the fourth quarter of the year, for which results have yet to be officially posted. Gol now expects losses of between $1.60 and $1.80 per share, up from a prior forecast for a $1.10 per share loss, it said in a securities filing. Gol reported a net loss of more than $350m for the first nine months of 2018. For 2019, as prices of oil have fallen and Brazil’s real currency has appreciated, Gol is now forecasting profits of between $1.20 and $1.40 per share, compared to a previous projection of between $0.80 and $1.20 per share traded on the New York Stock Exchange. <br/>