Gol followed up a highly profitable 2005 with a record quarterly performance, posting first-quarter 2006 net income of BRL179.9 million ($82.9 million), a 37.2% increase over a profit of BRL131.1 million in the year-ago period.

The Brazilian LCC attributed its continued success to strict cost controls. "Gol remains committed to its virtuous cycle of maintaining low costs, allowing us to offer the lowest fares and achieve the highest load factors in the Brazilian market," CEO Constantino de Oliveira Junior said.

Revenue soared 46.5% to BRL863 million against a 55.2% jump in expenses to BRL639.2 million. Fuel costs rose 20% to BRL108.1 million. Traffic grew 55.1% to 3.07 billion RPKs as capacity increased 61.1% to 4.34 billion ASKs. Operating income jumped 26.3% to BRL223.8 million as yield dropped 5.3% to BRL27.07 cents and operating RASK fell 9.1% to BRL19.88 cents. Operating CASK declined 3.7% to BRL14.73 cents.

Gol said its ability to control and reduce costs even as it boosted capacity allowed it to maintain its strong profitability. It added three leased 737s during the quarter, increasing its fleet to 45 aircraft, and plans four deliveries in the current quarter. It plans to increase capacity by another 45% and projects rising profits for the year, citing a strong Brazilian economy.