Brazil airline Gol swings to net loss in first quarter

SAO PAULO (Reuters) -Brazilian airline Gol reported on Tuesday a first-quarter recurring net loss of 130.2 million reais ($25.39 million), swinging into the red after a 136.4 million-real net profit a year ago, mainly hit by financial expenses.

Gol filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States in January as it struggles with a heavy debt load after a fall in traffic due to the pandemic and delays in Boeing deliveries.

The carrier last month lost its position as Brazil's No.2 airline by market share to rival Azul, as its traffic as measured by revenue passenger kilometer (RPK) dropped 4.1% in the first quarter from a year earlier.

Gol said in a securities filing it remains "true to its low-cost, high-productivity business model" during the restructuring process, which it dubbed necessary to improve its capital structure and create conditions for growth going forward.

Net revenue for the first quarter came in at 4.7 billion reais, down 4.2% on a yearly basis, while recurring earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) rose 15.2% to 1.43 billion reais, Gol said.

The closely watched EBITDA margin expanded by 510 basis points to 30.3%.

The operating figures as Latin America's largest economy enjoys healthy demand for air travel, Gol's Chief Executive Celso Ferrer said, "demonstrates our consistency and efficiency in our path during the financial restructuring."

($1 = 5.1284 reais)

(Reporting by Gabriel Araujo; Editing by Kirsten Donovan and Alistair Bell)

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