EasyJet has announced a significant reduction in losses for the six months ending in March, with a pre-tax loss expected to range between £340 and £360 million (€397 and €420 million). This is against the forecasted loss of £390 million (€455 million), marking an increase of more than £50 million (€58 million) compared to last year, as reported in today's financial update.
The low-cost British airline attributed the results to increasing capacity where demand was highest and making operations more efficient. It says it kept costs stable despite higher fuel prices, 6% inflation per seat, and fallout from the conflict in the Middle East which cost the company an estimated £40 million (€47 million) in profits.
Yesterday, the EasyJet announced a suspension of its flights to Israel until October because of the ongoing conflict in the region.
Results are also expected to be buoyed by a steady rise in bookings for summer 2024, indicating an increase in both volume and pricing compared to last year's figures for the same period.
"Bookings for the summer are already 70% sold as easyJet enters the most profitable part of the trading year, which should in turn comfortably push the group into surplus for the year as a whole," Head of Markets at interactive investor, Richard Hunter, said commenting on the results.
"Meanwhile, the planned capacity growth and expansion of choice should leave the company in a commanding position in its space over the peak period."
According to Hunter an anticipated pre-tax profit of approximately £31 million (€ 36 million) would signify a surge of more than 200%, driven by significant increases in revenue and customer growth, which have soared by 79% and 42%, respectively.
Meanwhile, EasyJet has announced the establishment of new bases in Europe.
"We have further enhanced our network with the launch of new bases in Alicante and Birmingham providing greater choice for consumers across Europe," the chief executive officer of easyJet, Johan Lundgren, said.
"We are well set up operationally for this summer season where we expect EasyJet to be one of the fastest growing major airlines in Europe and take more customers on EasyJet holidays than ever before."
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