EasyJet has announced a pre-tax loss of £1.27 billion, the first in its 25-year history. The airline said that passenger numbers for the year ending 30 September 2020 were 48.1 million, down by half from 2019’s 96.1 million, when the airline made a £430 million pre-tax profit.
The carrier’s total revenue decreased by 52.9 per cent to £3.0 billion (2019: £6.38 billion) while total revenue per seat decreased by 10.6 per cent to £54.35 (2019: £60.81).
The airline said that it had undertaken the “largest cost-out programme in its history” and reported headline costs excluding fuel down by 30.8 per cent at constant currency with “material savings across many areas of the business, including airport fees, ground handling, crew and maintenance costs”.
Johan Lundgren, easyJet chief executive said: “I am immensely proud of the performance of the easyJet team in facing the challenges of 2020. We responded robustly and decisively, minimising losses, reducing cash burn and launching the largest cost out and restructuring programme in our history – all while raising more than £3.1 billion in liquidity to date.
“While we expect to fly no more than 20 per cent of planned capacity for Q1 2021, maintaining our disciplined approach to cash generative flying over the winter, we retain the flexibility to rapidly ramp up when demand returns.”
The carrier believes it is well positioned to capture more business traffic when the market recovers.
“During the global financial crisis [of 2008] 56 per cent of corporates moved to value-oriented airlines such as easyJet when purchasing corporate travel products. We expect that any economic weakness following the Covid-19 pandemic will play to easyJet’s strengths and strong value-for-money credentials, resulting in a market share increase,” it said.
Recent research showed that the airline was the worst hit by England's second national lockdown.