press release

21 November 2017

EasyJet leaves industry troubles up in the air as passenger numbers hit new heights

 Budget airline overcomes industry pain reporting increases in revenues, pre-tax profits whilst carrying record number of passengers  Share price propels by 5% as a result and proposed dividend will be 40.9p, in-line with the group’s 50% pay-out ratio  The Share Centre recommends easyJet as a ‘hold’ for medium risk investors

As easyJet updates the market Helal Miah, investment research analyst at The Share Centre, explains what it means for investors:

“Easyjet’s full year results were pleasant reading across many measures in what has been a difficult year for the airline industry. The budget airline carried a record number of passengers at 80.2m, up by 9.7% with a record load factor of 92.6%. Group revenues rose by 8.1% to £5,047m despite some ticket pricing pressures. Moreover, courtesy of strong costs controls and the benefits of economies of scale, the group reported pre-tax profits of £385m, although this figure was impacted by one offs. The proposed dividend will be 40.9p, in-line with the group’s 50% pay-out ratio.

“Going forward, management say that future investment will be purposeful such as the acquisition of Air ’s operations at will secure leading positions at primary airports. Investors should appreciate that forward bookings for the first and second quarter are at 88% and 26% respectively, which are well ahead of the prior year and somewhat helped by capacity falling in the sector on the back of the failure of competitors

like . Furthermore, costs per seat for the current financial year are expected to fall by around 2%.

“Overall these are good results which the market seems to be fairly happy with as the shares have opened higher by around 5% in early trading. However, given the increased macro-economic environment where airlines have to fight against falling real incomes and the issues faced from Brexit, we continue to recommend easyJet as a ‘hold’ for investors seeking a balanced return.”

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