EasyJet PLC (LSE:EZJ) reported winter losses that were larger than last year's and worse than expected, but after its strongest-ever bookings in January has stuck to its full-year outlook, saying demand for both flights and package holidays remains strong.
The shares rose 2.3% to 486.68p in early trading on Thursday.
The airline reported a headline loss before tax of £93 million for the three months to the end of December, deeper than the £61 million loss in the same period last year and the City analyst consensus of £83.6 million. It said this reflected early-stage investment in new routes and airport bases.
Passenger numbers rose 7% year on year, ahead of a 5% increase in seat capacity. That lifted the load factor – how full its planes were – to 90%, two percentage points higher than a year earlier.
Revenue per seat was flat, while costs per seat rose 2% as the airline faced inflation and invested in operations.
EasyJet Holidays made roughly £50 million of profit from £311 million of revenue, up on the back of 20% customer growth.
Chief executive Kenton Jarvis said: “Bookings are building well for the summer season, with our largest ever January booking period.”
Customer satisfaction rose across both the airline and holiday business, helped by improved punctuality.
Forward bookings for the airline are ahead of last year. easyJet said it remains focused on reaching its medium-term goal of generating more than £1 billion in annual pre-tax profit.
Analysts at Panmure Liberum said the results were "as expected, with a wider pre-tax loss on the start-up costs of the new Italian bases and the full year effect of last summer’s investment in resilience".
They felt summer bookings were "building well" and were reassured that the outlook was unchanged.
** UPDATE: Adds share price, broker comments **