Azul S.A. (NYSE:AZUL) Q2 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

Alex Malfitani: Hi, Victor, we did make improvements in utilization year-over-year, up 6.8%, 7%, which is a very good sign. It’s a reflection of the fuel prices coming down as well, which allows us to add more flying on weekends, more flights at night, stretching out the day. We are making our way back to pre-pandemic utilizations. We will continue to see sequential improvement in this number in 3Q and 4Q as well as we redesigned the network as we take advantage of all the pockets of opportunity out there. We do have to be a little bit careful because fuel is still higher compared to pre-pandemic levels. And so we want to make sure that as we stretch the day out, we don’t lose the quality of the revenue. So that is the balance that we’re striking when it comes to utilization. But I fully expect that we’re going to continue to make progress. And over the next quarter, as you will see us get closer to that 11 hours number.

John Rodgerson: But this is the big debate internally. Alex and I’ll have this every single day. And so we know that’s the greatest leverage we have, increasing utilization. It’s going to decrease our CASK overall and make us a more profitable company going forward.

Victor Mizusaki: Thank you.

Operator: The next question will come from Gabriel Rezende, sell-side analyst from Itaú BPA. We’re going to open year our microphone so that you can ask your question, Gabriel. Please proceed.

Gabriel Rezende: Thanks and congrats on the results, guys. I would like to talk a little bit about profitability, given the strong 27% EBITDA margin that we saw in the second quarter. So two questions on that front. You managed to reach this strong level despite the second quarter weak seasonality factor. So if you could just touch on the – – on your view on what levels should we be thinking about in terms of EBITDA margins looking forward, considering the improving operational leverage in my reach in the second semester, that would be great. And also on the subject, if you could provide a little bit more color on our personal expenses, your personnel expenses, we saw a 26% increase year-on-year, which was higher than the increase in ASKs in the period, both quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year.

So should we expect the level to be maintained in the next quarters as well, or was there some one-off effect in the second quarter that should not repeat going forward? Those are my questions.

Alex Malfitani: Thanks, Gabriel. Yes, so we’re confident on the $5.5 billion EBITDA guidance that we gave out, right? So the guidance that we gave on EBITDA on capacity and on leverage are all still valid. We had things moving in different directions, right? We had the PESCO that was approved, which is positive. We had the fuel curve moving up which obviously is a headwind. But we – like John said, we have so much opportunity that we want to tackle that we are confident that we can deliver on a BRL5.5 billion EBITDA for this year. That’s what we’re going to be working on for the next few months and then make sure that we have great momentum going into the next year where the EBITDA can expand even further, right, at least starting with a six, which is something that we’re very excited about.