Liverpool John Lennon Airport’s biggest airline easyJet reports half-year losses of £394m for the winter period but says strong summer bookings mean full-year profits will surge above £700m. Tony McDonough reports
Budget airline easyJet is reporting widening half-year losses of £394m for the half year to March 31.
Although the carrier traditionally records a loss during the winter period this figure is higher than the £350m loss for the same period in the previous year. However, easyJet remains optimistic for its full-year prospects.
Strong summer bookings for the airline and its easyJet Holidays division will likely push group pre-tax profits just above £700m, almost £100m more than last year. EasyJet Holidays pre-tax profits are expected to come in at around £250m, up from £190m.
At the beginning of May, easyJet took delivery of its eight aircraft to be based at Liverpool John Lennon Airport where it is the biggest carrier with more than 30 routes. The new aircraft will create around 400 direct and indirect jobs.
Over the past 12 months easyJet has launched a number of new routes out of Liverpool. They include Malta, Fuerteventura, Prague, Berlin, Marrakesh, City of Derry, Sharm el Sheikh, and Split which will depart for the first time on June 9.
For the half-year period the carrier is reporting revenues of almost £2.2bn, slightly ahead of the previous year. Bookings for the summer period are ahead of last year and easyJet says it is on track to achieve its medium-term target of £1bn in annual pre-tax profits.
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Chief executive Kenton Jarvis said: “We continue to see strong demand for easyJet’s flights and holidays, as we attract more customers through our great fares, friendly service and unrivalled network of destinations.
“We are executing well against our strategy, to drive efficiency and enhance our customer experience both in the sky and on the ground.
“In addition, our commitment to giving customers an even greater choice of flights and holidays will also see us continuing to grow both in Europe and the UK.
“We remain focused on delivering another record summer this year, expecting to drive strong earnings growth as we continue to progress towards our target of sustainably generating over £1bn of annual profit before tax.”
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