Good growth reflected in 21% rise in passengers and revenues up 23%
Profits benefit from acceleration in cost reductions
- Profit before tax up 11% in H2, up 9% for full year to £68m (£62m)
- Reported earnings per share up by 3% to 10.7p
- Passenger numbers up 21% to 29.6m with load factor improved to 85.2% from 84.5%
- Total revenue per seat up 2% to £38.66
- Ancillary revenue per seat ahead by 17% reflecting our continued focus in this area
- Fuel cost per seat up 68% in H2, up 47% for full year
- Reduction in cost base accelerated with cost per seat ex-fuel and goodwill amortisation down 7% in H2 and 4% for the year, with reductions achieved in all key areas.
- Network developing rapidly with 72 new routes added in last year, giving a total of 212.
- Strong growth in continental Europe, revenue up 78% with Germany on track
Commenting on the results and prospects, Ray Webster, Chief Executive, said:
“We’ve made sound progress in the year with good growth in passenger numbers and revenue. Despite the fuel price increases we’ve minimised the rise in costs and, excluding fuel, our cost base per seat has fallen by a useful 4.4%: indeed we accelerated our reduction in ex-fuel costs during the year, clearly benefiting our profits. I’m pleased also with the expansion of our network and with 72 new routes added we are in good shape for future growth.
“In the current financial year we expect to deliver capacity growth, measured by available seats, of 15%. Our strong focus on controllable costs will continue and should result in a 3-5% reduction in cost per seat, before fuel. While we anticipate a slight reduction in total revenue per seat, ancillary revenues will improve with double digit percentage growth supported by a series of new initiatives. Overall, we therefore expect to achieve mid to high single-digit percentage profit growth.”
