EasyJet plc : Quarter 1 2013 Interim Management Statement

A. HIGHLIGHTS:

• easyJet's total revenue for the first quarter grew by 9.2% to £833 million, driven by strong growth in unit revenues and improved load factors.
• Revenue per seat grew by 8% at constant currency or by 3.9% on a reported basis to £53.87 per seat driven by a programme of revenue initiatives including the 'europe by easyJet' campaign, improvements to revenue management and network optimisation and competitor capacity reductions.
• Seats flown grew by 5.0% to 15.5 million. Passengers carried increased by 6.2% to 13.7 million, and the load factor increased by 1.0 percentage points to 88.6% driven by easyJet and competitor capacity discipline.
• Cost per seat excluding fuel increased by 0.5% on a reported basis and by 2.9% on a constant currency basis. This better than expected performance was driven by lower disruption costs as a result of exceptionally mild weather in the quarter and limited external industrial action.
• Strong balance sheet with cash and money market deposits of £833 million (excluding restricted cash) as at 31 December 2012.
• With around 80% of first half seats now booked, easyJet expects to contain first half loss before tax to between £50 million and £75 million compared to the £112 million loss reported in the first half of last year. This assumes a normal level of disruption in the second quarter.

Commenting on the results, Carolyn McCall, easyJet Chief Executive said:

"easyJet has made a strong start to the year due to a combination of management action, competitor capacity reductions and the benign operating environment. The good performance in the quarter and the structurally advantageous position that easyJet occupies in the European short-haul market means we remain confident in our outlook for the business.

Although the economic environment remains challenging, easyJet's strong customer proposition, combined with the actions that management are taking ensures that easyJet is well positioned going forward to deliver sustainable growth and returns."

For further details please contact easyJet plc:

Institutional investors and analysts:
Rachel Kentleton	[phone]
Tom Oliver	[phone]
Media:
Paul Moore	[phone]
Edward Simpkins RLM Finsbury	[phone]

A copy of this Interim Management Statement is available at www.easyJet.com/investors

View the full press release in PDF format