EasyJet (ESYJY) shares added over 3% in London trading Thursday after the company said it expects a narrower headline pretax loss for the first half of 2024 amid growing demand for summer bookings.
The company noted an 8% rise in total revenue per seat sold for the first half of the fiscal year, reaching GBP 69.87, up from GBP 66.46 a year earlier, and surpassing its mid-single-digit guidance.
The airline transported 16.8 million passengers in the second quarter, achieving a load factor of 87%, an increase from 15.6 million passengers the previous year.
For the six-month period ending March 31, easyJet expects its headline pretax loss, which excludes exceptional and one-time items, to be between GBP 340 million and GBP 360 million ($423.4 million to $448.3 million).
This marks a notable improvement from the GBP 415 million loss reported in the same period last year.
First-half revenue is projected to be around GBP 3.27 billion, with headline costs anticipated at approximately GBP 3.62 billion.
“The importance that consumers place on travel coupled with easyJet’s trusted brand has driven good demand for our flights and holidays. Our growth and focus on productivity have reduced winter losses by more than £50 million,” said Johan Lundgren, CEO of easyJet.
“We are well set up operationally for this summer season where we expect easyJet to be one of the fastest growing major airlines in Europe and take more customers on easyJet holidays than ever before.”