"Today we have announced our trading update for FY22, ahead of our full year results, covering Q4 and where we expect to finish the year
In Q4, we flew over 24 million customers with load factors of 92%. Due to the actions we put in place during the earlier part of the summer, on the day cancellations in Q4 were below 2019 levels for the same period and operations returned to normal. Thanks to your efforts and focus we also have seen higher customer satisfaction over July and August than the same months in FY19, and we are the most preferred airline in the UK with strong positions in our other key markets. And this has flowed through into our performance on EBITDAR which is one of the strongest in our history. While there are still many areas of focus, I’m really proud of these results.
Key headlines from today’s announcement include:
Q4 EBITDAR (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, Amortisation and aircraft Rental – proxy for cash generation) between £665 million - £685 million. This is in line with Q4 FY19.
Q4 headline operating profit (or EBIT – Earnings Before Interest and Taxes) is expected to be between £525 million and £545 million.
Overall we’re expecting to break even at the full year at an EBIT level – with a range between minus £10 million and plus £10 million.
For the full year, group headline loss before tax of between £170 million and £190 million which includes a c.£64 million non-operating, non-cash FX loss from balance sheet revaluations and c.£75 million of incremental disruption costs vs FY19 mainly from the operational issues experienced across the industry in Q3.
Ancillaries continue to deliver strong performance with Q4 ancillary revenue per seat 52% above FY19.
Our customer satisfaction ratings have exceeded pre-pandemic levels over the peak summer period.
easyJet holidays has generated FY22 profit before tax in excess of £35 million during its first full year of operations.
Looking forwards
Moving to this quarter, early indications are positive and we plan to fly around 20 million seats – up 30% year on year. Booked load factors are currently ahead of the same point in FY19, with peak periods including October half term and Christmas in the UK back to pre-pandemic levels. Our preparations for summer 23 continue with recruitment progressing well, with over 14,000 applications for cabin crew roles across the network. And our recurrent and new entrant training programmes are also underway.
With the macro environment getting tougher, the cost of living impacting customer spending and fuel prices rising, we continue to operate with strength through our brand, network and low cost model. This enables us to provide low fares to millions of customers, who are seeking value for money more than ever so that they can continue to protect their holidays where they can. We remain well hedged with c.69% hedged for fuel in H1 of FY23. We have one of the lowest net debt and strongest balance sheet in the industry and our brand remains strong with brand indicators placing us significantly ahead of other airlines."