EasyJet cuts losses as demand for flights and holidays grows
EasyJet cut its losses by more than half for the latest quarter on the back of improved demand for flights and package holidays.
The budget airline reported a headline pre-tax loss of £61m for the three months to December 31, down from £126m a year earlier.
It said this came after a 7 per cent rise in passenger numbers for the period.
Chief executive Kenton Jarvis said: “Looking to this summer, we have seen continuing demand for easyJet’s flights and holidays where we have one million more customers already booked, with firm favourites like Palma, Faro and Alicante as well as new destinations like Tunisia and Cairo proving popular.
“All of this demonstrates positive progress towards our medium-term target to deliver more than £1bn of profit before tax.”
Airlines often record losses during the winter months when demand for flights drops.
EasyJet said it flew 24.1 million seats in the final three months of 2024, up 5 per cent from 23.0 million a year earlier.
The average length of flights rose by 6 per cent.
The company’s package holiday arm easyJet Holidays recorded “around a 40 per cent increase in profits during the period”, Mr Jarvis added.
It is expected to record a 25 per cent growth in customer numbers for the year to the end of September compared with the previous 12 months.
Richard Hunter, Head of Markets at interactive investor, commented: “easyJet may have posted its usual and expected winter loss, but on closer inspection the group has made substantial progress which should insure another year of growing profitability.
“The headline pre-tax loss of £61m came against expectations of £70m and was a marked improvement on the £126m loss from the previous year.
“Increased costs of 9 per cent contributed to the negative figure, but there were strong signs of revenue growth nonetheless. Passenger revenue increased by 11 per cent, ancillary revenues by 10 per cent and the holidays business by 36 per cent.
"Indeed, it seems that the launch of the holidays unit has come at the right time with cost-conscious consumers searching for value packages, and the group has high hopes for the unit’s longer-term contribution to overall profits.
"This also chimes with the group’s value-conscious appeal and the increasing body of evidence which tends to suggest that the family holiday remains almost sacrosanct and outside of normal budgetary restraints. From a standing start, the unit now accounts for around 30 per cent of the group total, and saw a gain of 39 per cent in the quarter to record a profit of £43m, while being 93 per cent sold for the first half of this year.”