Easyjet revenue dips in third quarter despite passenger number growth
Easyjet said today that June's Brexit vote, as well as recent events in Turkey and the truck attack in Nice, had hit consumer confidence and contributed to a "difficult" trading environment.
And the company also said that trading prospects were so uncertain that it would be impossible to give a profit forecast.
Shares in the company were down 4.99 per cent at pixel time.
The budget airline blamed a combination of air traffic control strikes, other industrial action, runway closures at London Gatwick and severe weather for creating a challenging "economic and operating environment" in the three months to the 30 June.
The company reported a 2.6 per cent decline in revenue – down to £1.196bn from £1.228bn in the same period of last year.
Revenue dipped despite passenger numbers growing by 5.8 per cent to 20.2m, from 19.1m in the third quarter of 2015.
“The economic and operating environment has been difficult in the third quarter due to a number of factors including air traffic control strikes and other industrial action, runway closures at London Gatwick and severe weather," said Easyjet chief executive Carolyn McCall.
Read more: Easyjet seeking certification elsewhere in Europe after Brexit vote
"These factors combined with industry capacity growth in short haul continue to have an impact on industry yields at a peak time of year. More recently currency volatility as a result of the UK’s referendum decision to leave the EU as well as the recent events in Turkey and Nice continue to impact consumer confidence," she added.
"Despite this, Easyjet carried more passengers and achieved higher load factors during the third quarter as Easyjet’s brand continued to resonate strongly across Europe. Easyjet is strongly controlling costs and driving continued improvement in operational and customer delivery. We are focussed on the opportunities that are inevitable from a tougher environment."