easyJet forecasts £142m profit growth despite European disruption

Low cost carrier easyJet saw revenue growth in Q3 against a backdrop of disruption for airlines in Europe.

The Luton-headquartered company recorded a total revenue of £1.6bn in the three months to June 30, up 14% on the same period in 2017.

Passenger numbers, meanwhile, rose 9.3% to 24.4 million on the back of an 8.9% increase in capacity to 26.2 million seats.

easyJet said the growth comes in spite of Europe-wide disruption – including industrial action and air traffic restrictions – impacting revenue, costs and operational performance.

As a result of its Q3 performance, the carrier has increased its forecast pre-tax profit for the full 2018 financial year to between £550m and £590m.

easyJet’s profit before tax for the year ending September 30 2017 was £408m.

Johan Lundgren, the airline’s chief executive, said: “easyJet has delivered a strong performance during our third quarter driven by robust customer demand.

“The airline continues to go from strength to strength attracting more than 24 million customers in the period who chose to fly with us for our leading network of top European destinations, low fares and outstanding service.”

He continued: “We have also seen the continued growth in ancillary revenues, mainly due to more passengers choosing to buy allocated seating and hold bags.

“With easyJet on track for a positive summer trading period during the fourth quarter, we are raising our guidance for full year headline profit before tax for financial year 2018 to between £550m and £590m.”