Profit upgrade from low-cost airline EasyJet
LOW-COST airline EasyJet has lifted its annual profit forecasts even further after revenues per seat over the summer rose more than hoped.
EasyJet said it now expects to report pre-tax profits of £470m to £480m for the year to the end of September, at the top end of its predictions in July, which had already been upgraded.
At the top end of this range, EasyJet will be delivering a whopping 51 per cent surge in annual pre-tax profits.
The FTSE 100 firm believes revenues per seat jumped six per cent, at the high end of previous guidance, while costs were up four per cent, as expected.
The Luton-based airline said its strategy of adding flights on routes where rivals were cutting back had added to its summer growth.
Its upbeat outlook contrasts with that of rival Ryanair, which last month warned that its profits might come in below forecasts.
“EasyJet has delivered a strong performance in the last twelve months due to management action to generate value to our customers and maintain a tight control of costs combined with an unusually benign capacity environment,” said chief executive Carolyn McCall.
The company also posted a 4.8 per cent rise in traffic for September, carrying 5.7m passengers. In the year to September, traffic was up four per cent to 60.75m.