easyJet revenue surges 10.5pc

Shares of no frills airline easyJet took off after it posted a 10.5 per cent increase in revenue for the quarter to end-June from the same time a year earlier.

Total revenue increased to £1.033bn as revenue per seat grew 2.8 per cent due to the fall in the euro year on year.

Passengers carried increased 10.9% to 16m and the load factor, which shows the number of passengers as a proportion of the number of seats available, increased by 2.8 percentage points to 89.1%. Average sector length declined by 1.5% to 1,101 kilometres.

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CEO Carolyn McCall commented: "easyJet's focus on the customer, tight operational and cost management and strict allocation of capital across its leading network means that it is able to continue to perform well financially and operationally despite a tough environment for consumer facing businesses."

She added: "The continued strong operational and financial performance of the business combined with the fall in the price of jet fuel means that profit before tax for the year ending 30th September 2012 is anticipated to be in the range of £280m to £300m, at current fuel and exchange rates, assuming no significant disruption."

easyJet said around three quarters of summer seats are now booked, in line with the previous year and revenue per seat at constant currency continues to perform in line with expectations. Revenue per seat in the fourth quarter is expected to be broadly in line with the third quarter.

CJ