LOW-COST airline easyJet joined rival Ryanair in forecasting strong growth in annual profits today.
Luton-based easyJet said it expected annual profits to rise by between 40% and 50% in the year to September 30, even though it faced a further 7% hike in its average fuel bill over the first half of the financial year.
EasyJet, founded by Stelios Haji-Ioannou, said this would be offset by cost controls and other revenues, while passenger numbers were up following the introduction of more new routes, including a three-times daily service between Glasgow and Gatwick.
Ryanair painted a similar picture earlier this week when it said the introduction of baggage charges helped profits to rise by 30% in its most recent quarter.
The group hiked its forecasts for the year to March 31, as it said annual net profits were set to be 29% higher at £257m.
In November, EasyJet announced it had increased profits by 56% to £129m in the year to the end of September 30.
It indicated today it was on course for further strong growth as passenger numbers were up almost 10% to 8.1m in the three months to December 31 - leading to a 15% rise in revenues to £366.2m.
Total revenues per seat grew by 4% to £36.79 with the figure directly from passengers ahead by 2.3% and ancillary revenues continuing to grow significantly ahead of capacity, up by 22% per seat versus a year earlier.
EasyJet said car rental and insurance partner revenues were particularly strong, while it pointed out that its product giving boarding priority to a limited number of passengers was now widely available.
The airline pointed out that its second half performance was likely to come under pressure because of strong comparatives against a strong summer last year and due to continued strong competition.
However, it is likely to be boosted by an improvement in fuel costs, which are expected to be slightly lower for the year as a whole.
The company added: "Our focus on controllable costs and growth in ancillary revenues mean that for the full year we anticipate an improvement in profit before tax of between 40% and 50%.
