Brazilian carrier Azul boosted profitability and revenues in the third quarter as the low-cost carrier struck a positive note on the rest of this year and beyond.
Azul, which has reached key deals with OEMs, lessors and bondholders in recent weeks to help de-leverage the business and strengthen its balance sheet, increased revenues 4% to R5.1 billion ($884 million) in the third quarter. This reflects an improved demand picture over the second quarter and higher load factors.
”As we mentioned on our last call, we started to see signs of recovery in bookings and revenue and now you can see clearly we are back on a normal revenue trajectory, with RASK up 12% on the second quarter,” said Azul chief executive John Rodgerson during a third quarter earnings call on 14 November.
”Looking ahead to our peak summer season, we see a positive contribution of overall demand and industry discipline, which gives us confidence of continued strong revenue performance going forward.”
Azul increased operating profit by 7% to just over R1 billion in the third quarter and made a net profit of R360 million – a marked improvement on losses of almost R1.3 billion at the same stage last year.
The performance boost came even with the closure of Porto Alegre airport during the third quarter – which accounts for around 10% of Azul’s domestic revenues – due to floods in southern Brazil earlier this year. Last month’s partial reopening of the airport provides a further reason for the carrier’s optimism going forward.
”We are firmly back on our earnings growth trajectory,” says an upbeat Rodgerson. ”2024 will be our biggest year ever in terms of revenue, EBIT and EBITDA. And our outlook for 2025, with a projected record EBITDA of R7.4 billion, is even brighter.”
