easyJet: No Profit on the Horizon

EasyJet reported it's final results for the year ending 30 September 2021 today, revealing another massive loss exceeding £1 billion. This is on the back of a 52 percent drop in revenue even when compared to the already catastrophic 2020 figure. Back then, when revenue had dropped from £6.4 billion to just three, the airline's chief executive, Johan Lundgren, struck a positive tone: "easyJet has not only withstood the impact of the pandemic, but now has an unparalleled foundation upon which to emerge strongly from the crisis. Our unmatched short haul network and trusted brand will see customers choose easyJet when returning to the skies."

Unfortunately for the company though, customers have not yet returned to the skies in the numbers easyJet or the struggling industry as a whole require. Short to medium term, the prospect of profits appearing on the horizon seems bleak. Lundgren, however, is characteristically optimistic: "Having delivered FY’21 ahead of consensus, we have seen an encouraging start to this year with strong demand returning for peak winter holiday periods, coupled with increasing summer demand with Q422 capacity expected to be close to FY’19 levels".

Positivity can only get a company so far though, and with new travel restrictions being announced around the world almost every day at the moment, easyJet is correct in being wary: "It’s too soon to say what impact Omicron may have on European travel and any further short-term restrictions that may result."