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easyJet PLC on Thursday said third-quarter profit was in line with expectations, benefitting from the timing of Easter, but it warned of the costs of the air traffic controller strike in France. easyJet shares were down 8.0% to 483.88 pence in London early Thursday. Headline pretax profit advanced 21% to £286 million in the three months that ended June 30 from £236 million a year before, as revenue rose 11% to £2.92 billion from £2.63 billion. The improvement was ‘driven by strong demand for easyJet’s primary airport network and benefits from the timing of Easter’, which fell in April this year versus March last year. The revenue rise was led by the Holidays segment, where it was up 27% to £428 million in the recent quarter from £336 million a year before. Pretax profit from Holidays was £86 million, up by £13 million from a year before, and easyJet said it expects the division to contribute more than £235 million in pretax profit for the full financial year, which ends on September 30. It said 85% of the Holidays capacity for the fourth quarter has been sold. The company said it will set a new medium-term target for Holidays towards the end of the year, as a result of its business success. Passenger revenue was £1.76 billion in the third quarter, up 9.7% from £1.60 billion a year before, while ancillary revenue was up 5.6% to £732 million from £693 million. ‘The outlook for FY25 remains positive, with good profit growth expected year on year, albeit impacted by recent higher fuel costs and the scale of industrial action by French air traffic control. With 67% of our airline’s fourth-quarter capacity sold, the final outcome for FY25 will, as always, depend on late summer bookings and the associated yields,’ easyJet said. Chief Executive Officer Kenton Jarvis added: ‘We are extremely unhappy with the strike action by the French ATC in early July, which as well as presenting unacceptable challenges for customers and crew also created unexpected and significant costs for all airlines.’ easyJet said the air traffic control strike has caused £15 million in disruption costs, while higher fuel prices have added £10 million to costs. easyJet said it had £803 million in cash as of June 30, up 76% from £456 million a year before. Copyright 2025 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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