easyJet warns of larger than expected loss from higher fuel costs
easyJet PLC on Thursday said it expects a wider first-half loss, impacted by the conflict in the Middle East and competition in some markets.
The Luton, Bedfordshire-based budget airline said it expects to report a headline pretax loss between £540 million and £560 million for the six months to the end of March, compared to a £394 million loss for the prior year.
The company said the underlying first-half result was ‘broadly’ in line with expectations, with revenue and costs in line, excluding around £25 million of additional fuel costs in March linked to the Middle East conflict and a net £30 million rise in legal provisions.
The airline delivered a load factor of 90%, up two percentage points on-year, while easyJet holidays saw ‘continued strong demand’ with customer numbers rising 22%.
The second half is currently 67% sold, while the group expects full-year customer growth to rise by a low double-digit percentage on-year.
easyJet said strategic investments at Milan Linate and Rome Fiumicino airports performed in line with expectations in their first year of winter operations, while results were also impacted by continued capacity investments to drive winter aircraft utilisation.
Despite this, revenue per available seat kilometre rose by 3% on-year in the second quarter, helped by ‘modest’ route maturity and the earlier timing of Easter.
easyJet said expectations for full-year airline headline costs per available seat kilometre excluding fuel remain ‘broadly in line’ with previous estimates.
‘However, recent volatility in fuel prices mean that full?year fuel and total headline CASK expectations remain subject to fuel price developments over the coming months,’ the firm said.
As previously noted, easyJet said airline headline CASK ex fuel has seen inflation weighted towards the first half. It is expected to increase by low single digits in the second half of the year.
easyJet said around £25 million of incremental fuel costs in March were driven by the purchase of unhedged fuel requirements for March at prevailing spot prices.
For the first half, fuel CASK fell by around 5% on-year. Combined with the movement in airline headline CASK excluding fuel, this resulted in airline headline CASK rising by around 5% in the first half.
As a result of the conflict in the Middle East, easyJet said the booking curve has shortened in recent weeks, causing lower than normal forward visibility.
The company said it is well positioned to manage this volatility, as it reported net cash of £434 million and liquidity of £4.7 billion.
The firm noted that it is 70% hedged for fuel in the second half, at $706 per metric tonne. This compares to Wednesday’s spot price of $1,500.
easyJet noted that every $100 movement in fuel prices equates to around £40 million costs in the second half of the year.
‘easyJet saw continued positive demand in the first half, driven by our great value flights and holidays, alongside a continued focus on our operations and customer experience,’ said Chief Executive Officer Kenton Jarvis.
‘Despite these positives, our H1 financial performance worsened year on year, impacted by the conflict in the Middle East and the competitive environment in some markets. Following our busiest Easter holiday period ever, the operational ramp up into peak summer continues as planned.’
He added: ‘easyJet’s financial strength from our investment grade balance sheet and £4.7 billion of liquidity mean we are well placed to navigate current geopolitical challenges while remaining focused on our medium term targets.’
The company will publish its half-year results on May 21.
Shares in easyJet were down 1.5% at 385.20 pence on Thursday morning in London. The stock has fallen around 18% since the start of the conflict in the Middle East, and is down 19% over the last 12 months.
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