Just a heads-up for any traders out there. Easyjet seems to be bouncing back after its 20% fall during the week.

MM's seem to be walking the price up.

Right now we have EZJ Bid: 608.5p Offer: 609p Change: 11, was up 13 a few minutes back.

EASYJET PASSENGER STATISTICS FOR AUGUST 2013

Doesn't look to bad on the face of it.

Ed: I've corrected my last post.

I'm hoping for the 'read across' to IAG.

Passenger Statistics For October 2013

Nov 6: AlphaValue: Reduce - TP: 1126.90p Upgrade

Final Results

Strategic progress

Drive demand, conversion and yields across Europe

· Total revenue per seat grew by 7.0% to £62.58 driven by a benign capacity environment and positive management action including allocated seating, improvements to easyJet.com and the 'europe by easyJet' campaign.

· Seats flown grew by 3.3% to 68.0 million as a result of easyJet's disciplined approach to capacity, load factors increased by 0.6 percentage points to 89.3% and passenger numbers rose by 4.0% to 60.8 million.

Maintain cost advantage

· Cost per seat excluding fuel increased 3.9% at constant currency for the full year (5.3% on a reported basis). 2.0 percentage points of the cost increase was driven by increased charges at regulated airports in Spain and Italy and a further 0.8 percentage point relates to increased disruption and de-icing costs. Inflationary pressures were largely offset by the continued success of the easyJet lean programme.

Build strong number 1 and 2 network positions
· easyJet has consolidated its presence in key airports with over a 40% share of short haul in key airports such as Gatwick, Milan Malpensa and Basel (2) and has built up its share of French regional flying and grown strongly in Italy.

· easyJet announced new base openings in Hamburg and in Naples. This was enabled in part by easyJet's returns focused decision to close the Madrid base.

Disciplined use of capital

· easyJet ended the financial year with £1,237 million of cash, an increase of £354 million against the position at 30 September 2012. easyJet had adjusted net debt of £156 million.

· The Board is recommending a return to shareholders of £175 million which will be in the form of a special dividend of 44.1 pence a share and is subject to shareholder approval at the Company's AGM on 13 February 2014. This is in addition to the regular ordinary dividend of £133 million or 33.5 pence a share based on its existing policy of paying out one third of annual profit after tax.

· Following the acquisition of Flybe's slots at Gatwick, easyJet exercised the six remaining aircraft options under the current generation Airbus agreement on 31 October 2013 for delivery in spring 2015.

Had another slug of these at the kick off.

That special divi looks tasty.

Special Dividend in 2014. One worth considering........

First note out.........

Nov 2013 easyJet PLC EZJ Numis Buy 1,319.00 1,256.00 1,600.00 1,600.00 Reiterates

SP TARGET 1600p

UPDATE 1-EasyJet underlines advantage over Ryanair as profit soars
19 Nov 2013 - 07:49

(Adds details) LONDON, Nov 19 (Reuters) - British budget airline easyJet underlined its growing advantage over struggling Irish rival Ryanair on Tuesday, reporting annual profit at the top end of forecasts and returning cash to shareholders. The Luton, southern England-based firm said on Tuesday it made a pretax profit of 478 million pounds ($770 million) for the year to the end of September, up 51 percent and at the upper end of its forecast for 470-480 million pounds profit, provided last month. Sales rose 10.5 percent to 4.26 billion pounds. The airline also said it plans to return 175 million pounds to shareholders through a special dividend "as evidence of our continued confidence in the future prospects of the business" said Chief Executive Carolyn McCall. The upbeat assessment is in contrast to that given by Ryanair, Europe's biggest budget airline, which this month cut its annual profit target for the second time in two months and admitted it needed to improve customer service. [IDLnS8N0H8010] Rival airlines have been struggling with high fuel costs and weak consumer confidence, sending some smaller carriers out of business while the likes of British Airways owner IAG and Air France-KLM have cut routes, leaving gaps that low-cost airlines have been quick to exploit. Over the last three years easyJet has added flights on routes where rivals have cut back, and introduced more flights between top business destinations. It has also added flexible ticketing to allow passengers to change their flight up to two hours before scheduled departure time, and allocated seating in an attempt to steal corporate customers. EasyJet proposed a full year dividend of 33.5 pence a share, 55.6 percent up on last year, and a special dividend of 44.1 pence per share, making a total payout to investors of 308 million pounds. It said forward bookings were in line with last year but that its first quarter would be impacted by tough year-on-year comparisons due to strong post-Olympics demand in the UK and travel restrictions to Egypt. However, easyJet still expects to grow capacity, measured in seats flown, by 5 percent in the coming year. ($1 = 0.6206 British pounds) (Reporting by Rhys Jones; editing by James Davey and Kate Holton) ((r.jones@thomsonreuters.com)(44)(20)(7 542 4166)(Reuters Messaging: rhysl.jones.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)) Keywords: EASYJET RESULTS/

EasyJet underlines advantage over Ryanair as profit soars

ReutersNovember 19, 2013, 3:23 pm


LONDON (Reuters) - British budget airline easyJet underlined its growing advantage over struggling Irish rival Ryanair on Tuesday, reporting annual profit at the top end of forecasts and returning cash to shareholders.

The Luton, southern England-based firm said on Tuesday it made a pretax profit of 478 million pounds for the year to the end of September, up 51 percent and at the upper end of its forecast for 470-480 million pounds profit, provided last month. Sales rose 10.5 percent to 4.26 billion pounds.

The airline also said it plans to return 175 million pounds to shareholders through a special dividend "as evidence of our continued confidence in the future prospects of the business" said Chief Executive Carolyn McCall.

The upbeat assessment is in contrast to that given by Ryanair, Europe's biggest budget airline, which this month cut its annual profit target for the second time in two months and admitted it needed to improve customer service.

Rival airlines have been struggling with high fuel costs and weak consumer confidence, sending some smaller carriers out of business while the likes of British Airways owner IAG and Air France-KLM have cut routes, leaving gaps that low-cost airlines have been quick to exploit.

Over the last three years easyJet has added flights on routes where rivals have cut back, and introduced more flights between top business destinations. It has also added flexible ticketing to allow passengers to change their flight up to two hours before scheduled departure time, and allocated seating in an attempt to steal corporate customers.

EasyJet proposed a full year dividend of 33.5 pence a share, 55.6 percent up on last year, and a special dividend of 44.1 pence per share, making a total payout to investors of 308 million pounds.

It said forward bookings were in line with last year but that its first quarter would be impacted by tough year-on-year comparisons due to strong post-Olympics demand in the UK and travel restrictions to Egypt.

However, easyJet still expects to grow capacity, measured in seats flown, by 5 percent in the coming year.

(Reporting by Rhys Jones; editing by James Davey and Kate Holton)

http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/business/a/-/world/19916981/easyjet-underlines-advantage-over-ryanair-as-profit-soars/

Another Broker update.....

19 Nov 2013 easyJet PLC EZJ Investec Buy 1,338.00 1,256.00 1,500.00 1,500.00 Retains SP Target 1500p

UPDATE 2-EasyJet's profit leap underlines advantage over Ryanair

19 Nov 2013 - 11:57

(Adds CEO, analyst comment, shares, details) By Rhys Jones LONDON, Nov 19 (Reuters) - British budget airline easyJet reported a sharp rise in annual profit and said it would pay a 175 million pound ($282 million) special dividend to shareholders, underlining its advantage over larger Irish rival Ryanair . EasyJet's pretax profit rose 51 percent in the financial year ended September, helped by the introduction of allocated seating across its routes and strong revenues in many of its European markets. Chief Executive Carolyn McCall said on Tuesday that the airline, which carried 61 million passengers, offered "friendly service so that we can continue to win in a more competitive market." EasyJet's upbeat assessment was in contrast to that given by Ryanair, Europe's biggest budget airline by passengers, which earlier this month cut its annual profit target for the second time in two months and admitted it needed to improve customer service. [ID:nL5N0IP086] Europe's airlines are grappling with high fuel costs and weak consumer confidence, which have sent some smaller carriers including Spanair and Hungary's Malev out of business in the last two years leaving gaps for low-cost airlines to exploit. Older traditional airlines such as IAG , Air France-KLM and Lufthansa , are cutting jobs, renegotiating staff contracts and dropping uncompetitive routes to get costs down to similar levels as budget carriers. Shares in easyJet, which have doubled over the last year, were 7 percent higher at 1150 GMT on Tuesday, valuing the airline at more than 5 billion pounds. Ryanair was up 1.6 percent. < ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ BREAKINGVIEWS-Easyjet’s growth will get harder to replicate [ID:nL5N0J421Y] ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^> TOUGHER OUTLOOK Over the last three years Luton, southern England-based easyJet has added flights on routes where rivals have cut back, and introduced more flights between top business destinations. It has also added flexible ticketing to allow passengers to change their flight up to two hours before scheduled departure time and allocated seating in an attempt to steal corporate customers. Typically budget airlines have not given customers a numbered seat, resulting in a rush to board planes. EasyJet, which recently took over Flybe's slots at London's Gatwick airport, said it carried 11 million business passengers during the 2012/13 financial year, 1 million more than the previous year. "We are flattered by what our customers say about us and the results show the hard yards we have put in are paying off," CEO McCall said. However, she warned that easyJet faces a challenge this winter as rivals add capacity. She expects European capacity to rise 2 percent in the first half, compared with a 4 percent fall last year. "EasyJet is setting expectation for a tougher 2014," said Jefferies analyst Mark Irvine-Fortescue, citing increased competition from new low-cost carriers looking to expand, such as Norwegian Air Shuttle and Vueling. "There will continue to be retrenchment by less efficient airlines," he said. EasyJet proposed a full-year dividend of 33.5 pence a share, 56 percent up on last year, and a special dividend of 44.1 pence per share, or 175 million pounds, taking its total payout to investors to 308 million pounds. It made an annual pretax profit of 478 million pounds ($770 million), while sales rose 10.5 percent to 4.26 billion pounds. ($1 = 0.6206 British pounds) (Editing by Erica Billingham) ((r.jones@thomsonreuters.com)(44)(20)(7 542 4166)(Reuters Messaging: rhysl.jones.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)) Keywords: EASYJET RESULTS/

19 Nov 2013 easyJet PLC EZJ Credit Suisse Neutral 1,338.50 1,256.00 1,518.00 1,518.00 Reiterates SP target 1518p

easyJet’s “Buy” Rating Reaffirmed at Investec (EZJ)

Posted by Stuart Ham on Nov 19th, 2013

easyJet (LON:EZJ)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by equities researchers at Investec in a research report issued on Tuesday, Analyst Ratings Network.com reports. They currently have a GBX 1,500 ($24.18) price target on the stock. Investec’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 19.43% from the stock’s previous close.

easyJet (LON:EZJ) opened at 1360.00 on Tuesday. easyJet has a one year low of GBX 637.50 and a one year high of GBX 1465.00. The stock has a 50-day moving average of GBX 1278. and a 200-day moving average of GBX 1284.. The company’s market cap is £5.345 billion.

A number of other firms have also recently commented on EZJ. Analysts at Credit Suisse reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of easyJet in a research note to investors on Tuesday. They now have a GBX 1,518 ($24.47) price target on the stock. Separately, analysts at Numis Securities Ltd reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of easyJet in a research note to investors on Tuesday. They now have a GBX 1,600 ($25.79) price target on the stock. Finally, analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of easyJet in a research note to investors on Monday. They now have a GBX 1,400 ($22.57) price target on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. easyJet presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of GBX 1,386.85 ($22.36).

easyJet plc (LON:EZJ) is an airline carrier operating in Europe.

Cantor Fitzgerald Reiterates Hold Rating for easyJet (EZJ)

Posted by Stuart Ham on Nov 18th, 2013

easyJet (LON:EZJ)‘s stock had its “hold” rating reaffirmed by equities research analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald in a research note issued to investors on Monday, ARN reports. They currently have a GBX 1,400 ($22.57) price target on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald’s price objective points to a potential upside of 10.67% from the company’s current price.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Analysts at Goodbody Stockbrokers Ltd reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of easyJet in a research note to investors on Thursday. They now have a GBX 1,680 ($27.08) price target on the stock. Separately, analysts at Investec cut their price target on shares of easyJet from GBX 1,550 ($24.99) to GBX 1,500 ($24.18) in a research note to investors on Friday, November 8th. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, analysts at Liberum Capital initiated coverage on shares of easyJet in a research note to investors on Thursday, November 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a GBX 1,500 ($24.18) price target on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. The company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of GBX 1,386.85 ($22.36).

easyJet (LON:EZJ) opened at 1255.60 on Monday. easyJet has a 52 week low of GBX 636.50 and a 52 week high of GBX 1465.00. The stock has a 50-day moving average of GBX 1278. and a 200-day moving average of GBX 1281.. The company’s market cap is £4.935 billion.

easyJet plc (LON:EZJ) is an airline carrier operating in Europe.

easyJet Flying High on Year End Results
By Lou Gutheil

PUBLISHED: 19 Nov 2013 @ 14:46 | Comments (0) | More info about Lou Gutheil

easyJet’s (LSE:EZJ) share price continued its year-long ascent this morning after some mild turbulence over the past three months. By 1:00 pm today EZJ’s share price was 1,359 pence, up 103.0 from 1,256, an increase of 8.2% on the day.

The company released its final results for the year ending 30 September this morning, and the results were quite impressive.

51% increase in profits to £478 million (2012: £317 million)
10% increase in total revenue to £4,258 (2012: £3,854 million)
3% increase in operating margin basis points from 8.2% to 11.2%
55.8% proposed increase in dividend per share from 21.5 to 33.5 pence
Revenue per seat: up 7.0%
Seats flown: up 3.3%
Return on capital: up 6.1%
On-time performance rating: 87%


If the numbers are interesting, easyJet’s strategic plan is exciting. Clearly, executive management understands the issues faced by the airline industry, and its strategy, therefore, continues to be robustly successful. Whilst legacy airlines struggle to transform themselves, easyJet keeps carving out a larger piece of its niche and, at the same time, proving that it can be done profitably.

Building a low-cost airline is much more than offering low fares. In fact, the low fares are not a feature of a low-cost airline, they are a benefit made possible by operating the airline at controlled, lower than average costs. The company summed up its advantage in the competitive skyscape: ”easyJet has a cost advantage over its competitors in the airports that it operates from, allowing it to offer competitive and affordable fares. Its key competitors in the primary airports it operates from tend to be legacy carriers with older, less efficient aircraft, lower asset utilisation, lower seat densities and load factors and higher levels of fixed costs. easyJet’s lower cost base enables it to offer the affordable fares its customers value.”

Moving forward, the entire cost-driven strategy remains key to the company’s expansion and growth. ”easyJet is committed to maintaining its structural cost advantage against the legacy and charter operators who are its major competitors in the airports it operates from. Under the sponsorship of the Chief Financial Officer, easyJet lean is a programme designed to ensure unit cost growth excluding fuel is kept below the prevailing market inflation. The focus is on both reducing existing costs and initiatives designed to keep cost out, with targets set through to 2015 and beyond.”

Speaking of expansion and growth, easyJet also announced today that it will launch two additional routes out of Gatwick on 30 March 2014. Those flights will operate twice daily to Brussels and four times weekly to Strasbourg, adding to the 107 routes already being flown out of the airport. The company projects that it will be flying close to 1.3 million additional passengers per year following March 2013 and it will be hiring around 200 additional flight and cabin crew members in the interim to ensure service to scale.

Carolyn McCall, easyJet CEO, said “easyJet has delivered a strong full year performance and made significant progress against executing its strategic priorities. The results reflect easyJet’s continued structural advantage in the European short-haul market against both the legacy and low cost competition.”

Looking ahead, “easyJet expects that legacy carriers will continue to cut capacity from their unprofitable short-haul operations but that there will be increased competition from the new low-cost carriers looking to expand. Whilst the benign capacity environment is unlikely to continue in the short term, there will continue to be retrenchment by less efficient airlines and therefore opportunities for easyJet to continue to take profitable share in its core markets.”

Its keen awareness of the need to maintain tightly-controlled operational efficiency will be the foundation upon which easyJet will continue to flourish.

missed this one by miles, and prob far too late to jump on board now (unless cabin bags only!)

Agree, Good news with this lot for a while these days it seems.

20 Nov 2013 easyJet PLC EZJ Deutsche Bank Buy 1,342.50 1,345.00 1,560.00 1,560.00 Reiterates

SP TARGET 1560p