EasyJet revenue rise to offset weather losses

21st Jan 2010 07:26

EasyJet increased total revenue per seat by a bigger than expected 4.2% in its first quarter as 11m people flew with the budget airline, which says higher revenue will cancel any losses suffered during Britain's big freeze.Total revenue for the three months to 31 December was up 10.5% to £607.5m, or £47.50 for each seat, although the 'per seat' figure is down 0.4% at constant currency. The load factor grew by 2.4% percentage points to 85.8%.Most of the passenger growth, up 9.1% on the year before, came from outside the UK, up 20% in the quarter, meaning 54% of passengers now originate from overseas. Capacity, measured in seats flown, for both the first half and the full year is expected to increase by around 10%, while interim revenue per seat is now only expected to be 'slightly down'. 'The improvement in revenue performance is expected to offset the lost contribution and additional cost resulting from the unprecedented level of weather related disruption in the year to date,' said the firm. Excluding disruption costs, total operating cost per seat, excluding fuel, at constant currency are expected to be broadly flat for the full year and up low single digits in the first half.'EasyJet has continued to deliver a superior performance into the first quarter of our new financial year,' said chief executive Andy Harrison. 'The strength of customer demand has allowed us to grow passengers flown by nearly 10% with virtually no yield deterioration, slightly ahead of our initial expectations.'He still expects a tough trading environment, but says the underlying performance of the business in the first quarter has been encouraging and the company remains on track to deliver 'substantial' profit improvement during 2010.For the year ended 30 September 2009, easyJet said pre-tax profit fell to £54.7m from £110.2m the year before, although total revenue 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%.