EasyJet share price slides as profit projections fail to meet expectations
EasyJet's share price has dropped this morning after the budget airline forecast lower than expected pre-tax profits for its financial year.
The airline, which carried 17.9m passengers in the three months to 30 June, said in an interim management statement that it expected pre-tax profits for the year to September to be £570m, lower than a Bloomberg survey of analysts which had expected £572.4m. The amount was £545m for the year to September 2013.
However, EasyJet sees clear skies ahead in terms of growth, expecting a 6.4 per cent increase in seats flown, a figure that the company has been increasing in recent months.
The statement elaborates:
EasyJet capacity (seats flown) in the second half of the financial year is expected to grow by 6.4 per cent year on year assuming no further significant disruption. Competitor capacity growth on easyJet routes is now expected by OAG 3 to grow by four per cent this summer compared to the three per cent forecast in May 2014.
Therefore EasyJet expects to grow profit before tax from £478m for the year to 30 September 2013 to a range of £545m to £570m for the year to 30 September 2014 assuming no further significant disruption.
Shares in the company were under pressure this morning, falling by as much as 8.4 per cent in early trading. At pixel time stocks were 4.1 per cent lower.