Brazilian airline Gol posts Q1 beat on higher revenue, currency gains

Brazilian airline Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes Thursday reported higher-than-expected first quarter net income as currency gains helped offset higher fuel prices, driving its shares higher. The company said operating results were the best since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, with quarterly sales coming in above the levels seen in Q1 2019, prior to the health crisis. Shares of Gol were up 2.6% at 15.08 reais in midafternoon, outperforming Brazil’s Bovespa stock index, which was up 0.4%. Gol posted quarterly net profit of 2.6b reais ($523.8m), compared with a 394.8m-real consensus from analysts polled by Refinitiv, reversing the multibillion-real losses of both a year ago and the previous quarter. The bottom line was boosted mainly by foreign exchange gains, Gol said, as Brazil’s real strengthened sharply against the US dollar in the period. The company disclosed preliminary traffic data for the first quarter earlier this month, noting its load factor rose by about 1 percentage point from last year. Available seat kilometers (ASK) grew roughly 44%.<br/>