SÃO PAULO, Sept. 17, 2021
/PRNewswire/ -- GOL Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes S.A. (NYSE: GOL
and B3: GOLL4), ("GOL" or "Company"), Brazil's largest airline, announces that it
has finalized the terms and conditions for the refinancing by GLA
Linhas Aéreas S.A., an operating unit of the Company, of
R$1.2 billion, with a final maturity
in 2024. The participating syndicate is comprised of local banks in
Brazil, and the transaction is
subject to final approvals and execution of the relevant
documents.
The refinancing will conclude GOL's liability management program
and return the Company to its lowest level of short-term debt since
2014 (approximately R$0.5 billion at
the end of 3Q21). Through its liability management program, GOL
utilized assets on its balance sheet to reduce short-term debt by
R$2.1 billion over the 12-month
period ended in June 2021. In
partnership with its aircraft lease providers, the Company has
maintained its aircraft lease liability at approximately 45% of
total indebtedness during the same period, with a stable IFRS16
discount rate.
The refinancing of GOL's short-term debt will extend the average
tenor of its liabilities to 3.3 years – an increase of more than
two years. The use of proceeds of the refinancing includes:
R$592 million applied to the
remaining balance of the 7th issue of debentures,
R$528 million of export financing
lines (Finimps), and R$165 million of
working capital credit lines.
"With this transaction, the Company has concluded the largest
balance sheet deleveraging among its peers, making it the airline
with the lowest liabilities. We can now focus the vast majority of
our operating cash flow on sustainable operational growth," said
Richard Lark, CFO.
The transaction will also improve GOL's credit metrics by better
matching future assets and liabilities and reducing the Company's
average cost of debt. Richard Lark
added: "We are optimistic that this will be a critical catalyst to
restoring GOL's credit rating to its pre-pandemic level of B/B+ by
the three major corporate credit ratings agencies."
The Company's disciplined financial management throughout the
pandemic strengthened its balance sheet and reduced short-term
indebtedness, preserving liquidity to maintain operations. GOL also
concluded several other important initiatives to rebalance its
capital structure, such as the amortization of its US$300 million Term Loan B, the issuance of
US$500 million of Senior Secured
Notes due 2026, a R$423 million
equity capital increase led by its controlling shareholder, and the
acquisition of the minority interest in its Smiles loyalty
program.
The table below shows the main sources and uses in GOL's
liability management since January
2020.
Sources of
Funds
|
R$bn
|
Uses of
Funds
|
R$bn
|
Senior Secured Notes
due 2026
|
2.4
|
Term Loan B
|
1.6
|
Guaranteed
Financing
|
1.3
|
Guaranteed
Financing
|
1.3
|
Restricted
Cash
|
0.6
|
Capex
Financing
|
0.7
|
Aircraft
Sales
|
0.5
|
Working Capital
Financing
|
0.7
|
Capital
Increase
|
0.5
|
Import
Financing
|
0.6
|
Deposits
|
0.3
|
Senior Notes due
2022
|
0.4
|
Other
Sources
|
0.2
|
Cash
|
0.5
|
TOTAL
|
5.8
|
TOTAL
|
5.8
|
Investor Relations
ri@voegol.com.br
www.voegol.com.br/ir
+55(11) 2128-4700
Media Relations
Becky
Nye, Montieth & Company
bnye@montiethco.com
About GOL Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes S.A.
GOL is Brazil's largest
airline, leader in the corporate and leisure segments. Since its
founding in 2001, it has been the airline with the lowest unit cost
in Latin America, which has
enabled the democratization of air transportation. The Company has
a strategic alliance with American Airlines and Air France-KLM, in
addition to making available to Customers many codeshare and
interline agreements, bringing more convenience and ease of
connections to any place served by these partnerships. With the
purpose of "Being First for Everyone", GOL offers the best travel
experience to its passengers, including: the largest inventory of
seats and the most legroom; the most complete platform with
internet, movies and live TV; and the best loyalty program, SMILES.
In cargo transportation, GOLLOG delivers parcels to various regions
in Brazil and abroad. The Company
has a team of 15,000 highly qualified airline professionals focused
on Safety, GOL's number one value, and operates a standardized
fleet of 127 Boeing 737 aircraft. GOL's shares are traded on the
NYSE (GOL) and the B3 (GOLL4). For further information, visit
www.voegol.com.br/ir.
Disclaimer
The information contained in this press release has not been
subject to any independent audit or review and contains
"forward-looking" statements, estimates and projections that relate
to future events, which are, by their nature, subject to
significant risks and uncertainties. All statements other than
statements of historical fact contained in this press release
including, without limitation, those regarding GOL's future
financial position and results of operations, strategy, plans,
objectives, goals and targets, future developments in the markets
in which GOL operates or is seeking to operate, and any statements
preceded by, followed by or that include the words "believe",
"expect", "aim", "intend", "will", "may", "project", "estimate",
"anticipate", "predict", "seek", "should" or similar words or
expressions, are forward-looking statements. The future events
referred to in these forward-looking statements involve known and
unknown risks, uncertainties, contingencies and other factors, many
of which are beyond GOL's control, that may cause actual results,
performance or events to differ materially from those expressed or
implied in these statements. These forward-looking statements are
based on numerous assumptions regarding GOL's present and future
business strategies and the environment in which GOL will operate
in the future and are not a guarantee of future performance. Such
forward-looking statements speak only as at the date on which they
are made. None of GOL or any of its affiliates, officers,
directors, employees and agents undertakes any duty or obligation
to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a
result of new information, future events or otherwise, except to
the extent required by law. None of GOL or any of its affiliates,
officers, directors, employees, professional advisors and agents
make any representation, warranty or prediction that the results
anticipated by such forward-looking statements will be achieved,
and such forward-looking statements represent, in each case, only
one of many possible scenarios and should not be viewed as the most
likely or standard scenario. Although GOL believes that the
estimates and projections in these forward-looking statements are
reasonable, they may prove materially incorrect and actual results
may materially differ. As a result, you should not rely on these
forward-looking statements.
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SOURCE GOL Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes S.A.