Azul has a loss of R$ 946 million in the 4th quarter

Azul posted a fourth-quarter net loss pressured by financial expenses, although the operating result beat analysts’ forecasts.

The company’s net loss was R$945.7 million in the fourth quarter, reversing a profit of R$543.4 million in the same period of the previous year. In adjusted terms, the net loss dropped 52.5% from October to December over a year earlier, to R$436 million.

The average expectation of analysts who follow the company was a loss of R$ 397.8 million in the period, according to data from Refinitiv.

Operating income measured by earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (Ebitda) grew 432.5% compared to the fourth quarter of the previous year, to R$1.027 billion, above the market consensus of R$763.5 million.

Net revenue totaled R$3.73 billion in the quarter, an increase of 109.1% compared to the same period in 2020, with an increase in passenger revenue, driven by the removal of restrictions related to the pandemic, and cargo.

The airline industry has been facing crises since the beginning of the pandemic. Earlier this year, the omicron variant of the coronavirus posed another obstacle for airlines, which canceled hundreds of flights due to the removal of part of the crew, contaminated with Covid-19.

Azul is among the companies affected. For part of January, it maintained an average of 10% of its flights impacted on the day, around 90 flights. Procon-SP even notified airlines to inform them of the number of canceled flights.

At the time, to try to minimize the impact, Azul proposed the company’s proposal to reduce the number of days off for pilots and flight attendants in the months of February and March in exchange for a monthly food stamp of R$ 463.21, which was rejected by the officials. The airline’s situation was the most critical: the company was already working at 100% of its capacity.