Investec downgrades EasyJet after Q3 update

Investec downgraded EasyJet to ‘hold’ from ‘buy’ as it cut the price target to 1,100p from 2,050p to reflect the revised outlook following the airline’s third-quarter update on Thursday.

The brokerage said Q3 trading was broadly in line with post-Brexit expectations. However, the fourth-quarter yield outlook is highly uncertain, with yields achieved for Q4 post-Brexit down around.12%, compared to those before Brexit down around 5%.

Investec noted that capacity plans for the second half have also been reduced from +6.5% to +6.1%, while cost savings are expected to pick up materially in the fourth quarter, from a 0.4% increase per seat year-to-date to a 1% drop for the full year, suggesting savings of around 4.4%.

The brokerage said it has downgraded its full-year 2016-18 earnings forecasts by 20-30%.

On Thursday, the low-cost airline posted a drop in revenue per seat and total revenue for the third quarter amid difficult trading that was hit by the terror attack in Brussels and the Egyptair tragedy.

For the quarter ended 30 June, total revenue per seat was down 8.3% at constant currency or 7.7% on reported basis to £54.54, while total revenue fell by 2.6% to £1.196bn as increased seat capacity was offset by the impact on yield of overall market capacity and cancellations as a result of external events.

At 0920 BST, EZJ shares were down 1.3% to 1,053p.