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(Alliance News) - easyJet PLC on Tuesday said that it will expand its flying schedule following improved customer demand and that third-quarter performance was in line with expectations, with a restart to flying during the period following lifting of Covid-19 related travel restrictions.
Total group revenue for the third-quarter ended June 30 was GBP7 million, a small fraction of the GBP1.59 billion in the third quarter last year.
easyJet swung to a quarterly headline pretax loss of GBP324.5 million from a GBP174.2 million profit recorded a year ago. Total cash burn for the quarter was GBP774 million compared to previous guidance of GBP1 billion.
The company's aircraft fleet was fully grounded on March 30 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Having re-started flying on 15 June, easyJet carried 117,000 passengers with a total capacity of 132,000 seats in the remaining two weeks of the third-quarter.
The initial schedule comprised only 10 lines of flying and delivered a load factor of 88.9%, it said.
Looking ahead, easyJet expects to fly 40% of planned capacity for the fourth quarter ending September 30. The company previously estimated to fly 30% of its capacity in the fourth-quarter.
"I am really encouraged that we have seen higher than expected levels of demand with load factor of 84% in July with destinations like Faro and Nice remaining popular with customers. Our bookings for the remainder of the summer are performing better than expected and as a result we have decided to expand our schedule over the fourth quarter to fly 40% of capacity," said Chief Executive Officer Johan Lundgren.
Based on current flying schedule, easyJet expects to record a narrowed quarter-on-quarter loss in the fourth-quarter.
"At this stage, given the continued level of short-term uncertainty, it would not be appropriate to provide any other financial guidance for the remainder of the 2020 financial year," the company said.
As at June 30, easyjet had a net debt position of GBP835 million, up from GBP467 million at March 31, representing cash equivalents of GBP2.56 billion and gross debt including leases of GBP3.40 billion.
Shares in easyjet were up 10% at 558.00 pence each in London on Tuesday morning.
By Tapan Panchal; tapanpanchal@alliancenews.com
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