Shares in easyJet (EZJ) fell 7 per cent on the day these numbers were released. That could be because the discount airline reported that first-half revenue per seat fell by a tenth on a constant currency basis, attributed to a later Easter and the growth in industry capacity. On the bright side, easyJet reported a record number of passengers on board its flights, at 33.8m up 9 per cent year on year, with an all-time high load factor of 90.2 per cent. Securing attractive time slots at some of Europe's biggest airports boosted capacity by 8.4 per cent, and this is expected to continue as some of easyJet's competitors scale back their operations.
Besides an unfavourable exchange rate, the budget airline is working to avoid undue Brexit turbulence. The plan is to establish a European Air Operator Certificate in another EU state by the summer, at a £10m cost spread over three years - £3m of which will be reflected this year.
Analysts at Credit Suisse expect pre-tax profits of £392m for the full year to September 2017, giving EPS of 78.8p, increasing to £455m and 94.5p in FY2018, down from £495m and 108p in FY2016.
| EASYJET (EZJ) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 1,225p | MARKET VALUE: | £4.9bn | |
| TOUCH: | 1,224-1,225p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 1,566p | LOW: 851p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD*: | 4.4% | PE RATIO: | 19 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 589p** | NET CASH: | £353m | |
| Half-year to 31 Mar | Turnover (£bn) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 1.8 | -18 | -3.8 | nil |
| 2017 | 1.8 | -236 | -48.9 | nil |
| % change | +3 | - | - | - |
Ex-div: na Payment: na *Full-year dividend of 53.8p paid in Mar 2017 **Includes intangible assets of £533m, or 134p a share | ||||
