LONDON, July 25: British airline Easyjet said Wednesday it was hoping for a record summer showing as it posted a 16 percent rise in third-quarter profits before tax.
The carrier lifted headline profits to 236 million pounds ($304 million) for the three months to June 30 and now eyes a holiday period boon.
"Our strong performance in the quarter has been driven by more customers choosing Easyjet for our unrivalled network of destinations and value for money," said outgoing chief executive Johan Lundgren.
He said that with public appetite strong for travelling the company was on track for another record summer to match July and August of last year, which marked a major bounce back after the pandemic years.
Easyjet saw passenger numbers rise eight percent year on year to 25.3 million, lifting sales 11 percent to 2.6 billion pounds.
The airline added that fourth quarter reservations were continuing to rise with 69 percent of seats sold to date.
Costs per seat excluding fuel increased just slightly, although that reflected an increase in more distant destinations, according to Easyjet, while the cost of fuel is falling.
Easyjet announced in May that Lundgren would leave early next year after more than seven years in his role, giving way to current chief financial officer Kenton Jarvis.
Easyjet's Irish competitor Ryanair announced on Monday quarterly net profit had nearly halved, dragged down by higher than expected ticket discounts to fill planes, though it did unveil a ten percent increase in passengers as lower air fares offset a jump in demand. —AFP
