Easyjet shares took off on Thursday after the airline bumped up its full-year profit forecast to between £675m and £700m for the 12 months to 30 September 2015.
Following the update, by 8:38am the firm’s stock had lifted 7% to or 108p to 1780p.
Previously the discount carrier had predicted profits to land somewhere between £620m to £660m.
In its latest market update, the airline highlighted that it enjoyed a boost in passenger numbers during August where the so-called ‘load factor’ reached 94.4%, marking a new monthly best for the group.
Passenger numbers for the month were 7.06m, which is also a record for the business and is the second successive month of over 7m passengers.
It said the strong revenue performance had more than offset the significant cost headwinds that the business has faced this year, with greater-than-expected disruption across the network particularly in April, the impact of the two fires at Rome Fiumicino airport, the one-off £8m settlement with Eurocontrol and costs associated with higher load factors.
Commenting on the latest figures, Carolyn McCall, easyJet chief executive said: “These figures demonstrate the strength of easyJet – with its strong customer focus and its unique and winning combination of the best route network connecting Europe’s primary airports, with great value fares, friendly service and industry leading digital innovations.
“This platform meant that easyJet was best placed to maximise the strong late summer demand from UK passengers to get away to beach and city destinations across Europe and will enable the airline to set new records for full year revenue and profit.”
Easyjet shares remain firmly in ‘strong buy’ territory according to the current broker consensus.
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