LONDON: easyJet Plc (EZJ.L) reported a 21% year-on-year rise in third-quarter headline profit before tax, reaching £286 million, driven by robust demand and strong performance from its holiday unit.
The budget airline saw a 2% growth in passenger numbers and a 0.2 percentage point increase in load factor, supported by the timing of Easter and continued resilience across its network. Revenue climbed nearly 11% to £2.92 billion, while operating costs rose 9.9%, resulting in a 16.1% improvement in group EBITDA to £491 million, according to the company.
easyJet holidays contributed £86 million in pretax profit, up £13 million from the prior year. The company now expects full-year profit from the unit to exceed £235 million.
CEO Kenton Jarvis said operational improvements and demand from primary airports underpinned the quarterly gains, despite disruptions linked to French air traffic control strikes.
“While recent ATC action created significant and unexpected costs, we remain focused on delivering performance and progressing toward medium-term targets,” Jarvis said.
The airline reiterated a positive full-year outlook, projecting ASK capacity growth of about 9% and forecasting a low single-digit decline in total CASK. Fourth-quarter bookings are 67% sold, one percentage point higher than last year.
easyJet ended the quarter with £803 million in net cash and £4.9 billion in total liquidity after securing a new $1.7 billion revolving credit facility.