23rd Jan 2014 10:28
LONDON (Alliance News) - UK-based low-cost airline easyJet PLC said Thursday that said it carried 4.2% more passengers in its first quarter but saw its shares drop as the firm said it expects to report a first-half loss before tax of between GBP70 million and GBP90 million, assuming normal levels of disruption.
In an interim management statement for the quarter to December 31 2013, easyJet said that the number of passengers carried in the period increased 4.2% to 14.3 million, and its load factor improved by 0.1% 88.7%. Seats flown grew 4.1% to 16.1 million.
Total revenue grew 7.7% to GBP897 million for the quarter . The company noted that revenue per seat grew as expected by 3.4% on a reported basis to GBP55.71 per seat or by 1.4% at constant currency, somewhat muting the hit expected due to strong prior year comparators from post-Olympic trading in the UK and a challenging competitive environment.
These headwinds were offset by improved capacity allocation, changes to fees and charges, increased non-seat revenue (up 8 pence per seat to 88 pence per seat), and increased average sector length as capacity increased to cover longer destinations, easyJet said.
The company also noted that it has continued to attract more business passengers to the airline. In the quarter business passengers grew by 8.9%, ahead of overall passenger growth of 4.2%.
Despite reporting growth for the quarter and stating that it retains a strong balance sheet with cash and money market deposits of GBP1.1 billion at the end of the period, the company said that it expects a first-half loss before tax to be in the range of GBP70 million to GBP90 million, assuming normal levels of disruption.
Easyjet notes that Easter fell on March 31 in the first-half of 2013, resulting in GBP25 million in additional revenue; this financial year will see Easter will fall in April, which the firm warns may affect its trading performance during the first-half.
Carolyn McCall, easyJet Chief Executive said, "easyJet has made a good start to the year. We have delivered revenue per seat growth in the quarter against a challenging competitive environment and the tough comparison with the prior year. The performance in the quarter demonstrates our continued focus on cost, progress against our strategic priorities and easyJet's structural advantage in the European short-haul market against both the legacy and low-cost competition.
"Our strategy of offering our customers low fares to great destinations with friendly service and a focus on cost control ensures that we can continue to deliver sustainable growth and returns for our shareholders," McCall added.
Shares in the low-cost airline were trading down 2.47% at 1,700 pence per share Thursday, one of the biggest fallers on the FTSE 100.
By Alice Attwood; [email protected]; @AliceAtAlliance
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