easyJet full-year profit down 45 percent

LONDON (AP) -- Budget airline easyJet PLC reported a 45 percent drop in full-year profits on Tuesday as higher fuel costs offset a strong gain in revenue. Some of the accounts, however, were criticized by the company's founder, who said newly acquired assets were being overvalued.


For the year ending Sept. 30, the company reported a net profit of 83.2 million pounds ($123.5 million) compared to 152.3 million pounds in the previous year.

Revenue rose 31.5 percent to 2.36 billion pounds ($3.5 billion) boosted by the acquisition of GB Airways in January and a 17 percent gain in passenger numbers to 43.7 million. The load factor rose 0.4 percentage points to 84.1 percent, the company said.


The company's shares were down 6.8 percent at 257.75 pence (US$3.82) in early trading on the London Stock Exchange.

"We recognize that economic conditions will be very difficult and easyJet is planning accordingly, which means focusing on offering customers great value, driving down controllable costs and preserving cash," said Chief Executive Andy Harrison.

In a statement included with the earnings report, the company's founder Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou expressed his disagreement with the management's recent takeover of GB Airways and the valuation of aircraft and slots at Gatwick airport gained with the deal.

In both cases, Stelios said, he believed the value was worth less than the company's figure.

"I believe that with careful cash management and in particular more prudent capital expenditure, easyJet PLC and its shareholders will be the winners in European short-haul aviation," Stelios said. "We must focus on cash flows forecasts and not on carrying more passengers."

On the Net: http://www.easyjet.com/en/Investor/investorrelations--introduction.html