EasyJet returns to profit after ‘record’ summer

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European budget airline easyJet has returned to profit following a “record” summer performance, although this winter’s bookings have been impacted by the war in Israel.

The UK-based carrier made a net profit of £324 million for the year up to 30 September 2023 – this compares to a loss of £169 million during the previous financial year.

EasyJet was boosted by a 42 per cent year-on-year rise in total revenue which went up to £8.2 billion, compared with £5.8 billion in 2022. This came as the airline ramped up capacity by 14 per cent from 81.5 million seats last year to 92.6 million in 2023.

Johan Lundgren, easyJet’s CEO, said: “Our record summer performance demonstrates the success of our strategy and that demand for easyJet remains strong as customers choose us for our network and value.

“We are confident about the future and the opportunity ahead, focusing on capital discipline and driving our low-cost model to achieve our ambitious medium-term targets.”

EasyJet said it had benefited from a “strong ticket yield and a continued increase in ancillary revenue generation”, with passenger revenue per seat up by 20 per cent year-on-year to £56.37; ancillary revenue per seat rose by 21 per cent to £23.47. 

The carrier emphasised a “positive outlook” for the 2024 financial year with revenue per seat on early bookings “pleasingly ahead of last year”. 

Although easyJet admitted its early winter results will “see an impact from the conflict in the Middle East”, with flights to Israel and neighbouring Jordan both temporarily paused.

“Additionally, there was a broader impact on near-term flight searches and bookings across the industry, though this seems to be coming back with a recent improvement in trading,” said easyJet in its results statement.

“Accordingly, despite positive underlying strength, easyJet does not currently expect its Q1 (October-December 2023) loss to improve year-on-year. The present booking strength for summer 2024, coupled with supply constraints in Europe, provide a positive outlook for the year as a whole.”

The carrier said that it aimed to “further strengthen our position in key markets” around Europe in the coming year.

“EasyJet remains ready for opportunistic growth alongside growth on our existing network, through leveraging slot growth in core markets and upgauging [using aircraft with more seats] which allows expansion at slot constrained airports,” added the company.

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