easyJet FY profit drops 50%

17th Nov 2009 07:28

Budget airline easyJet said full year pre-tax profit halved after it was hit by higher fuel costs. For the year ended 30 September 2009 pre-tax profit fell to £54.7m from £110.2m the year before. Total revenue during the period increased 12.9% to £2.7bn. Total revenue per seat was up 10.9% or 4.1% at constant currency while passenger numbers were up 3.4% to 45.2m. The load factor improved by 1.4% to 85.5%. Commenting on the results chief executive Andy Harrison said, "We are one of the very few European airlines to make a profit during the last 12 recessionary months." He added, "We see a tough winter ahead. We are focussing our efforts on further cost savings and efficiency improvements together with optimising route profitability and aircraft allocation. We shall also benefit as our fuel hedges adjust to market prices. Putting all this together, at current fuel prices and exchange rates, we expect easyJet to make substantial profit improvement in 2010."