SHARES in easyJet soared to a record high yesterday as the budget airline said annual profits will smash City forecasts with a surge of up to 50 per cent. The Luton-based carrier defied concerns the recent heatwave will hit last-minute getaways by saying almost three-quarter of its summer seats are booked. EasyJet - which is Northern Ireland's largest airline, operating 23 direct routes from Belfast International - said rising passenger numbers and strong third-quarter revenues will mean pre-tax profits of up to £480 million for the year to the end of September - compared with £317m a year earlier. Revenues for its third quarter to the end of June surged 10.5 per cent to £1.14 billion and passenger numbers increased 2.6 per cent to 16.4m. Revenues per seat grew by 6.1 per cent at constant currency to £61.44. Analysts at Numis Securities had expected annual profits of about £440m and third-quarter revenues of £1.12m. EasyJet's shares stumbled on Tuesday after analysts at HSBC downgraded the carrier on worries the recent heatwave would cut demand for impromptu foreign holidays, cutting its profit forecast to £433m. "We think demand for holiday flights will be melting as fast the ice-creams on Clacton beach in the current heatwave," HSBC analysts said in a note.
EasyJet chief executive Carolyn McCall said 73 per cent of its seats are now booked for its peak April to September period and annual profits will be between £450m and £480m unless it hits significant disruption. "EasyJet has delivered a strong performance in the third quarter in a benign capacity environment," she said. Shares in the airline touched a high of 1449p in early trading - the highest level since its stock market flotation in 2000. Easyjet's shares have continued climbing since its promotion to the FTSE 100 in March.
However, the airline's load factor - a measure of how full its planes are - dipped to 88.2 per cent from 89.1 per cent a year earlier after Easter fell a week earlier on March 31. Higher airport charges and disruption from strikes and deicing helped push costs 4.5 per cent higher at constant currency.