easyJet share price loses altitude despite upbeat trading update

Shares in easyJet (LON:EZJ) have lost more than two percent in London this morning, even as the company posted an upbeat trading update, forecasting that its full-year profits will come in at the upper end of its guidance. The lowcost carrier, however, also unveiled that its profits have suffered a currency hit due to sterling’s drop against the US dollar in the wake of the Brexit vote.

As of 08:21 BST, easyJet’s share price was 0.70 percent down at 1,275.00p, underperforming the broader UK market, with the benchmark FTSE 100 index having climbed marginally into positive territory and currently standing 0.07 percent higher at 7,513.48 points. The group’s shares have added more than 35 percent to their value over the past year, and are up by a little over a quarter in the year-to-date.

easyJet announced in a statement this morning that its passenger numbers for the three months ending September 30 stood at a record 24.1 million driving a record load factor of 95.6 percent. The budget carrier further said that its headline profit before tax for its 2017 financial year is expected to be between £405 million and £410 million, at the upper end of its previously guided range. The company, however, expects around a £100-million adverse currency impact on profits.

“The market continues to be challenging and easyJet has had to absorb a significant currency impact of £100m in the year,” easyJet’s outgoing chief executive Carolyn McCall commented in the statement, adding, however, that the group’s profit tax outlook represented “a good performance in a rapidly evolving and consolidating market”.

easyJet’s update comes after news emerged recently that the lowcost carrier had emerged as one of the preferred bidders for parts of insolvent Air Berlin, along with Germany’s Lufthansa. 

As of 09:00 BST, Friday, 06 October, easyJet plc share price is 1,264.50p.