21st Jul 2016 06:22
LONDON (Alliance News) - easyJet PLC on Thursday reported a fall in revenue in the third quarter of its financial year as flight cancellations resulting from terrorist attacks, bad weather and air traffic control strikes offset a rise in seat capacity.
The low-cost airline said total revenue in the quarter ended June 30 fell by 2.6% year-on-year to GBP1.20 billion, as revenue per seat declined by 7.7% to GBP54.54, despite the number of passengers carried rising by 5.8% to 20.2 million and load factor increasing by 0.3 percentage point to 92%.
easyJet said the number of passengers carried was boosted by an increase in capacity of 5.5% to 21.9 million seats, but revenue declined as the increased seat capacity was offset by the impact on yield of overall market capacity and cancellations as a result of "significant external events".
Those events included the terrorist attacks in Brussels in March and the crash of an Egyptair flight in May, as well as air traffic control strikes, runway closures at Gatwick airport, and severe weather. Those factors led to 1,221 cancellations in the period.
"More recently currency volatility as a result of the UK's referendum decision to leave the EU as well as the recent events in Turkey and Nice continue to impact consumer confidence," Chief Executive Carolyn McCall said in a statement, referring to the failed military coup in Turkey last weekend and the proceeding terror attack in France.
"The easyJet business model remains robust, with a strong cash position, solid balance sheet and a flexible fleet plan. The easyJet team is confident in its ability to navigate the period ahead and drive long-term advantage," she added.
By Karolina Kaminska; [email protected] @KarolinaAllNews
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