Flybe H1 profit down but revenue and passenger numbers rise

(ShareCast News) - Flybe reported a drop in pre-tax profit in the six months to the end of September amid challenging markets, but revenue and passenger numbers rose.Pre-tax profit declined 15.9% to £7m, taking a hit from the fall in the value of the pound which increased the cost of US dollar loans on aircraft, while adjusted pre-tax profit fell 5.2% to £15.9m.Group revenue rose to £383m from £339.6m in the first half a year ago, driven by higher passenger volumes in Flybe UK, further development of White Label operations and increased revenue in Flybe Aviation Services.In Flybe UK, revenue was up 10.2% to £364.6m, with a 13.5% increase in seat capacity as additional aircraft were deployed.Meanwhile, passenger volumes rose 7.1% to 4.8m, but the load factor - which gauges how full the planes are - fell by 4.3 percentage points to 72%.Executive chairman Simon Laffin said: "We have completed the transformation, which started three years ago. Next year, for the first time since the IPO in 2010, we will have control over our aircraft capacity. We can begin to move from being a supply-driven business to a demand-driven business. This will free us for even greater focus on implementation excellence and refining route profitability."As passenger numbers are still rising across the industry, we see further revenue opportunities. The aviation market is tough at the moment, with excess seat capacity in the European short-haul market coupled with a weaker pound, and both business and consumer uncertainty impacting all airlines."Numis said the results were "encouragingly resilient", with adjusted pre-tax profit ahead of its estimate of £14.5m.At 0930 GMT, the shares were up 2.6% to 35.90p.