EasyJet reported a widening of its first-half losses on Thursday, in line with expectations, as the budget airline continues to take a hit from Covid-related restrictions.
In the six months to 31 March, the headline pre-tax loss widened to £701m from £193m in the same period a year ago, coming in within the company’s guidance range of between £690m and £730m.
The losses were mainly a result of ongoing disruption to commercial flying from Covid-related restrictions across Europe. The airline said it flew just 4.1m passengers, down 89.4% on the first half of 2020.
Total revenue fell 90% to £240m, with passenger revenue down 91% to £170m. Meanwhile, the load factor – which gauges how full the planes are – declined by 26.6 percentage points to 63.7%.
EasyJet said its cash burn during the half was better than expected thanks to “a disciplined approach to capacity and cash management”. Cash burn was £39m a week on average in the first quarter and £38m in the second, outperforming guidance for £40m a week.
Based on current travel restrictions, easyJet expects to fly around 15% of 2019 capacity levels in the third quarter, with an expected increase in capacity levels from June onwards.
Chief executive Johan Lundgren said: “With leisure travel taking off in the UK again earlier this week where we are the largest operator to Green list countries and with so many European governments easing restrictions to open up travel again, we are ready to significantly ramp up our flying for the summer with a view to maximising the opportunities we see in Europe.
“We have the ability to flex up quickly to operate 90% of our current fleet over the peak summer period to match demand.”
