Gol warns of Q3 loss despite revenue boost

Brazilian airline Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes said Wednesday it expects to report a loss in Q3 due to high fuel prices, despite strong revenue growth. The company said it expected a loss of about 1.81 real per share for the period, with fuel unit costs expected to have risen 87% year on year. Gol added that it expects its EBITDA margin for the quarter to be around 15%, down from 24.3% in the same period last year. The company will publish its results on Oct. 27. The downturn comes despite an expected 45% rise in the company’s passenger unit revenue from a year earlier. This had been “driven by continued growth in domestic leisure travel demand combined with a gradual pickup in international travel,” the airline said. Non-fuel unit costs are expected to have fallen by around 25%, mainly due to increased supply and productivity growth, it added. Its financial leverage, measured by the net debt to EBITDA ratio, is expected to have been 10x in the quarter. Total liquidity at the end of September was calculated at 3.6b reais ($680.14m). <br/>