The Company concluded its restructuring
process initiated in 2024 to solidify its financial position,
eliminating US$ 2.1 billion in debt
and financial obligations and receiving US$
525 million in new capital.
Faced with a challenging scenario, the company
opted for a commercial negotiation with its partners, enabled by
its reputation and solid business model.
SÃO PAULO, Jan. 28,
2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Azul, the largest airline
in Brazil in terms of destinations
served and daily flights, announced this Tuesday the conclusion of
the negotiation process with its bondholders, lessors and aircraft
manufacturers, resulting in the elimination of over US$ 2.1 billion in debt and financial obligations
from the company's balance sheet. This is the result of the
exchange of instruments convertible into company stock worth
US$ 557 million held by lessors and
OEMs for 94 million preferred AZUL4 shares, as well as converting
more than US$ 785 million of
financial debt maturing in 2029 and 2030, along with other
improvements to the company's cash generation.
With over 16 years of operation in Brazil, the company faced last year a
challenging external scenario, with the devaluation of the real
against the dollar; operational costs highly impacted by the price
of aviation fuel, which is one of the most expensive in the world;
the high rate of litigation in the sector; the global supply chain
crisis; and the floods in the south of Brazil. Even with this scenario, Azul was able
to reach amicable agreements with all its investors and commercial
and financial partners, enabled by the trust of the overall
market.
"This is another very important moment in Azul's history, as we
conclude a negotiation process that will solidify our company even
further. In addition to the extinction of US$ 2.1 billion in financial obligations, we
received today a new capital injection of more than US$ 525 million, which will increase our
liquidity and ensure we are stronger than ever," highlights
John Rodgerson, CEO of Azul.
The extinction of obligations includes strategic commercial
agreements with lessors, manufacturers, and other suppliers, also
ensuring a strengthening of the cash flow by more than US$ 300 million until the end of 2027.
In addition to providing an improvement in cash flow over the
next three years, the conclusion of the agreements will deleverage
Azul by approximately 1.4x on a pro-forma basis using 3Q 2024
figures.
"We are very optimistic about Azul's future. We will add 15 new
Embraer E2s to our fleet throughout this year, which will be
extremely valuable to solidify our plan and expand access to air
travel across the country. We thank our partners and investors for
their trust, which allowed us to successfully conclude this
negotiation and who will continue to support us in the constant
strengthening of Azul," concludes the executive.
About Azul
Azul S.A. (B3: AZUL4, NYSE: AZUL) is
Brazil's largest airline in number
of flights and destinations served, with over 1000 flights per day
to more than 160 cities. With an operational fleet of more than 160
aircraft and more than 14,000 crew members, Azul flies more than
300 direct regional, domestic and international routes. In 2022,
Azul was named the most on-time airline in the world, according to
the OnTime Performance-OTP Review report by Cirium - the world's
leading reference for operational data in the aviation industry. In
addition, in 2020, Azul was elected the best airline in the world
by TripAdvisor Travelers' Choice, being the only Brazilian carrier
to be awarded with both prestigious industry recognitions. For more
information, visit www.voeazul.com.br/imprensa.
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SOURCE Azul
