São Paulo, August 29th, 2024 – Azul S.A., "Azul" or “Company”, (B3:AZUL4, NYSE:AZUL), hereby clarifies to its shareholders and to the market in general information contained in the misleading article published by Bloomberg on August 28th, 2024.
As previous reported in our 2Q24 earnings call on August 12, 2024, our operations were severely impacted in 2024 by several facts, such as:
- the devaluation of the Brazilian real;
- the reduction in our domestic capacity as a result of the Rio Grande do Sul floods in May and the closure of Porto Alegre Airport, with a partial reopening expected in October 2024;
- a temporary reduction in our international capacity in the first half of the year; and
- significant manufacturers’ delays and supply chain constraints.
As a result, Azul developed a new plan targeting an overall improvement of its profitability and liquidity position. Accordingly, the Company is in active negotiations with its main stakeholders to optimize the equity structure agreed upon in our capital optimization plan last year. Stakeholders have been generally supportive, and negotiations are progressing towards improved outcomes for all parties. As we have consistently demonstrated, Azul always favors amicable, commercial solutions that maximize value to all of its stakeholders.
Furthermore, as we also reported in our call, we have additional cash-raising opportunities using Azul Cargo as collateral, with a first-out capacity of up to US$800 million. Other sources of liquidity are also available. Yesterday, the Brazilian Congress approved the bill that allows airlines to access recurring credit lines backed by the National Civil Aviation Fund (FNAC).
In addition, as the Company also previously announced, it is having discussions with Abra to explore possible partnerships or business combinations relating to GOL. To this date, it has not entered into or formalized an agreement, binding or otherwise.
Azul would like to reinforce its commitment to complying with the rules on the disclosure of periodic, eventual, and other information of market interest applicable to publicly traded companies, guaranteeing its wide and immediate dissemination and equal treatment to all, to avoid any type of asymmetry of information that could prejudice its investors. Azul will keep its shareholders and the market in general informed of any significant developments.