Easyjet EZJ The chickens have at last come home to roost and Sir Stelios has been proved right. Number crunchers can not run a successful airline and that is why Ryanair and Intercontinental thingummiejigs are two of todays most successful airlines.
Easyjet has quietly tried to distance itself from its origins as a budget airline. Some fares now equal or even exceed those of the “proper” airlines but it can not get away from the fact that it still operates with the attitude of a budget airline and still tries to pretend it is a budget airline. The result is that it is caught between a rock and a hard place. The flying public is not as stupid as Easyjet thinks and has delivered it a strong warning. The results for the half year to to 31st March do not make pleasant reading.
Firstly it has clearly gone ex growth. The load factor is static and revenue has risen by by a tiny 0.3%. Revenue per seat has fallen by 4.2% but costs per seat have risen by 4.3% despite the collapse in the price of fuel, a double whammy if ever there was one.Worst of all it has managed to turn last years half time profit of £7m. into a loss of £24m and earnings per share of 1.3p have become a loss per share of 5.1p
Easyjet calls this a robust performance, more like a bumpy landing
Few managements are capable of taking on board lessons from results like these. There is only one person capable of giving those lessons. At least Sir Stelios will be able to speak with added authority when he gives his next words of warning and advice. For once perhaps, they should listen to him.
Bovis Homes BVS has seen the house building boom continue unabated during the first four months of the year. Freely available mortgage finance has fuelled strong demand. Weekly sales rates have improved and sites have been selling out earlier than expected.
Cello CLL has had a good start to the year. Except in one division, it has a robust income pipelines and is continuing to work towards the resolution of its VAT dispute with HMRC.
Gear4music G4M has had a record year for its first as a listed company, with strong UK growth and excellent progress in Europe. Adjusted operating profit for the year to 29th February grew by 138%, adjusted EBITDA by 100% and revenue by 46%. Last years loss of £797,000 was turned into a tiny profit of £6,000. Year end cash has grown from just under £1million to £3.5m
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