Gol Posts Second-Quarter Loss of 51.9 Million Reais on Currency

Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes SA, Brazil’s second-largest airline company by market share, posted a second-quarter loss after costs rose and a decline in the real increased the value of its foreign-currency debt.

The net loss was 51.9 million reais ($29.7 million), compared with net income of 353.7 million reais a year earlier, Sao Paulo-based Gol said in a regulatory filing late yesterday. Net sales rose 14 percent to 1.59 billion reais.

A 1.3 percent rise in the U.S. dollar against the real from April to June increased the value of Gol’s dollar-denominated debt and led to a 29.9 million-real exchange-rate loss, according to the filing. A year earlier, the U.S. currency fell 16 percent against the real, leading to an exchange-rate gain of 448.4 million reais. Gol said 81 percent of its debt is in foreign currency.

Operating costs rose 18 percent in the quarter to 1.53 billion reais, including a 33 percent rise in fuel and lubricant costs. The second quarter also typically brings lower demand for flights, Gol said.

The airline boosted its forecast for the increase in 2010 domestic flight demand to 14 to 21 percent from 12.5 to 18 percent, according to the filing. That reflects an increase in the company’s forecast for Brazil’s gross domestic product growth in 2010 to 6 to 7 percent from 5 to 6 percent previously, Gol said.