Gol Q4 Loss Jumps On Weaker Currency

Brazilian airline Gol posted its fifth straight quarterly loss as a weaker local currency increased its financial costs.

The carrier reported a net loss of BRR687.1 million reais (USD$303.6 million) in the fourth quarter, up sharply from a BRR6.5 million loss a year earlier.

It had reported a net loss of BRR474.4 million for the third quarter.

The sharp depreciation of the local currency against the dollar increased financial costs the company said in a statement. Aircraft leasing costs increased 25.6 percent in the fourth quarter from the year before.

For all of 2008, Gol recorded a net loss of BRR1.39 billion, compared with a profit of BRR272 million the year before.

The company's fourth-quarter earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) reached BRR87.5 million compared with a loss of BRR56.2 million a year earlier.

The carrier expects the domestic aviation industry to grow between 2 percent and 4 percent this year, down from previous forecasts of 6 percent growth.

The real has lost nearly one-third of its value against the US dollar since the global economic crisis worsened sharply in August of last and has recovered only marginally since.

Gol's bottom line has suffered since it bought Brazil's former flagship airline Varig in 2007. Gol struggled to overhaul Varig, which was on the verge of collapse after years of mismanagement.