by Sam Dean, The Daily Telegraph, January 6, 2017
EasyJet flew almost five million more passengers last year than in 2015, despite taking a multi-million pound hit in the wake of the Brexit vote and issuing its first profit warning since 2009.
The no-frills airline was one of the year’s biggest losers on the London Stock Exchange after shares plunged by more than 33pc in the two weeks following the EU Referendum vote, but today announced a 6.6pc increase in the number of passengers it flew during the year.
The FTSE 100 company carried more than 74m people in 2016, up from 69.8m in 2015. In December, it enjoyed a 15pc increase in passengers to 5.6m, up from 4.8m in December 2015.
Last month also brought a 3pc increase in load factor - a key industry figure showing how full its flights are - to 89.9pc. Load factor for the year, however, was broadly flat at 91.5pc.
EasyJet could downgrade its future expansion plans at its scheduled review in March, after chief financial officer Andrew Findlay told analysts last month that it would continue to face a tough operating environment in 2017.
Sterling’s collapse following the Brexit vote wiped a third from the airline’s market value while, after it issued its first profit warning since 2009. In November, it trimmed its dividend by £5m after reporting profits of £495m, its worst result in three years.
It comes as low-cost rival Ryanair continues to expand in the competitive short-haul market. It is poised to seal a deal that will see it feed passengers to long-haul carrier Norwegian Air - a move that would help guarantee higher priced seats to Ryanair.
EasyJet shares moved up 1.3pc to £10.70 in early trading.
This article was written by Sam Dean from The Daily Telegraph and was legally licensed through the NewsCred publisher network.