EasyJet PLC said Wednesday that it expects to beat fiscal 2023 market consensus for pretax profit after first-quarter revenue rose, and that booking strength continues across the second quarter and into the summer season.
The U.K. low-cost carrier
EZJ,
said it expects to beat market consensus of a pretax profit of 126 million pounds ($155.3 million).
For the period ended Dec. 31, adjusted pretax loss–a metric that strips out exceptional and other one-off items–was GBP133 million pounds compared with a loss of GBP213 million for the first quarter of fiscal 2022. Deutsche Bank analyst Jaime Rowbotham had a pretax loss estimate of GBP128 million for the period.
Revenue was GBP1.47 billion compared with GBP805 million in the year-prior period, and consensus of GBP1.36 billion, taken from FactSet and based on three analysts’ forecasts. The company said this was driven by strong demand, the outperformance of ancillary products, and its easyJet Holidays business.
Passenger revenue rose to GBP975 million from GBP547 million, with ancillary revenue increasing to GBP406 million from GBP230 million.
EasyJet said capacity in the period rose as it flew 20.2 million seats, in line with guidance, with a load factor–a measure of how full a plane is–at 87%, compared with a load factor of 77% for the first quarter of fiscal 2022.
Write to Anthony O. Goriainoff at anthony.orunagoriainoff@dowjones.com
