Easyjet reports £40.3 million pre-tax loss |
|
|
Published
:
Wed, 03 May 2006 15:45
|
LONDON - Budget airline Easyjet has reported a pre-tax loss of £40.3 million for the six months ending March 31 as fuel costs soared beyond control. The corresponding figures for last year were £21.6 million. Easyjet said the loss was mainly due to a 49 percent increase in fuel costs and the delayed timing of its Easter weekend.
Easyjet said that the losses were not as bad as expected and it still forecast a 10 to 15 percent increase in profits for the full year. Easyjet added that it had rained in the rising costs by cutting prices and by increasing the sales of non-ticket items like food.
Such measures had helped it check losses. The company had predicted a loss of £45 million at its annual AGM in February. "We are conscious that we have a big summer ahead, that the price of oil remains a risk, and we continue to operate in a highly competitive environment," said Easyjet chief executive Andy Harrison.
"Notwithstanding these uncertainties, we now anticipate full-year passenger revenue per seat to be broadly in line with 2005, and expect ancillary revenue to grow at around 20% per seat for the full-year." Easyjet added that it still expected to make a substantially more profit than the £68 million in 2005.
In the six months ending March, Easyjet reported a 10.1 percent increase in passengers carried out by it to 14.1 million passengers and has added 28 new routes during the same period. The company aims to start flights to Marrakech in Morocco in the coming summer. "Successful cost reduction and revenue improvements, especially in ancillaries, have largely offset the considerable hike in fuel prices and the effect of Easter moving from the first half in 2005 to the second half in 2006," Harrison added.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Stock
Quotes * |
|
NASDAQ
|
|
2792.28 |
22.57 (
0.81 %)
|
| SYMBOL (
2012-01-19 ) |
| LAST |
CHANGE
|
|
CARNIVAL
(
11:35am )
|
|
2017.00 |
46.00 (
2.42 %)
|
|
WHITBREAD
(
11:35am )
|
|
1662.99 |
33.99 (
2.09 %)
|
| SYMBOL (
2012-01-19 )
|
| LAST |
CHANGE
|
|
IBM
(
12:34pm ) |
|
181.50 |
0.43 (
0.24 %)
|
| SYMBOL (
2012-01-19 )
|
| LAST |
CHANGE
|
|
|
Print this Story
NATS reports first significant profits 