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Luton / AFP-Bloomberg
British no-frills airline EasyJet on Tuesday said it had fallen into a loss during the first half of its financial year in the wake of the Brussels attacks.
Its earnings statement added that future revenues would be impacted also by recent events in the Belgian capital.
Net losses stood at £20 million ($29 million, 25 million euros) in the six months to the end of March, compared with a profit after tax of £5.0 million during the equivalent period in 2014/15.
“Taking into account the timing of Easter and the effects of terrorism in Brussels, EasyJet expects third quarter revenue per seat to decline by around seven percentage points,” the airline added in its statement.
“EasyJet expects revenue per seat at constant currency for the second half of the financial year to decrease by low to mid-single digit percentage points.”
EasyJet said revenue in the first half was hit also by reduced flying to Paris and Egypt following attacks there in late 2015.
On the upside, the airline benefitted from lower fuel costs.
On March 22, Brussels was hit by suicide bombings claimed by the extremist group that targetted the city’s airport and a metro station, leaving 32 people dead.
Two bombers blew themselves up at the check-in area of Brussels airport, while a third detonated his explosives at Maalbeek metro
station near the European Union headquarters.
International Airlines Group, owner of British Airways and Iberia, recently said it was scaling back plans to raise its flights offering because of the Brussels attacks.
Chief Executive Officer Carolyn McCall said she’ll lift dividend payments and that EasyJet’s fiscal 2016 pretax profit should be in line with analyst forecasts. As of May 9, that figure was 721 million pounds, according to company-compiled data, down from a consensus of 738 million pounds as of Jan. 26.
“We are confident that over the full year we will again grow passenger numbers, revenue and profit,†McCall said, while cautioning that a “more competitive trading environment†is set to continue for the medium term as fuel prices remain low.
Shares of EasyJet declined as much as 1.4 percent and were trading 6 pence, or 0.4 percent, lower at 1,464 pence as of 8:07 a.m. in London.
The stocks have fallen by nearly 16 percent this year, valuing the company at 5.8 billion pounds.
EasyJet faces heightened competition as low-cost leader Ryanair Holdings Plc targets more major airports, as well as from an expansion of IAG SA’s Vueling
discount-arm and makeovers at the no-frills units of Deutsche Lufthansa AG and Air France-KLM Group.
