easyJet Share News (EZJ)

(Sharecast News) - Higher fuel costs and a weak consumer confidence saw budget airline Easyjet report a 26% fall in full year profit as it said it was planning to offset carbon emissions for all flights.
Headline pre-tax profit before fell to £427m for the year to September 30, at the top end of the company's £420m - £430m guidance.

The low-cost carrier said it would become the first major airline to operate net-zero carbon flights at a cost of £25m in the next fiscal year.

"We recognise that offsetting is only an interim measure, but we want to take action on our carbon emissions now," said chief executive Johan Lundgren.

Revenue rose 8.3% to £6.39bn as passenger numbers grew 8.6% to 96.1m. Pre-tax profit per seat fell to £4.07 from £6.07.

Basic earnings per share fell 25% to 88.7p. The dividend also fell 26% to 43.9p a share.

The company also unveiled plans for a new for a new package holiday business to be launched before Christmas in the UK, adding that it expected it to break even in its first year. The move comes after the collapse of Thomas Cook in the summer.

The airline spent £36m on Thomas Cook's slots at Gatwick and Bristol airports giving it more summer and winter capacity. It expected to be operating these as early as next February.

Airport slots allow an airline to schedule a landing or departure during a specific time period - this means that easyJet's purchase of Thomas Cook's old ones will allow it to schedule more flights.

"We believe there is a gap in the market for a modern, relevant and flexible business for today's consumer," the company said.

The airline said that forward bookings for the first half of the 2020 financial year were "reassuring" and slightly ahead of last year, adding that capacity growth would be towards the lower end of historic guidance between 3% and 8%.

Easyjet added that it taken a a £4m charge in relation to Brexit-related preparation plans, down from £7m in 2018 principally due the cost of transferring pilot licenses and re-registering aircraft to Austria.