Flybe has reported a full-year profit for the first time since it was floated on the stock market in 2010.
In the second full financial year of its three-year transformation plan, the airline achieved pre-tax profit of £5.5m compared with a £25.4m loss in the previous financial year.
But the improvement failed to impress investors, accoding to Connor Campbell, a senior market analyst at www.spreadex.com.
"Having briefly crossed the 60p mark in the aftermath of its full year results, Flybe began to fall this Thursday with investors insufficiently impressed with the company’s £5.5 million in pre-tax profit.
"That profit came off the back of an 8.7% rise in revenue to £623.8 million, though it appears that investors were more focused on the 2.6 percentage point decline in load factor, an issue that has persisted since the start of the year."
However, Flybe said it was pleased with the result, which was achieved despite the impact of the tragic terrorist attacks in Paris in November and in Brussels in March, the absorption of around £20m of cost relating to E195 jets, and ‘pressure on yields from industry-wide capacity growth acceleration and lower fuel costs’.
Chief executive Saad Hammad said: "We delivered top-line growth in a difficult revenue environment, expanding our network and carrying more passengers than last year. We drove our unit costs down further. We also resolved our last key legacy issue, with solutions delivered for our remaining E195 jets.
"As a result of all the action we have taken, Flybe is now a much more resilient business and well positioned for profitable growth."
He said the airline is now ‘well placed to navigate the current industry challenges’.
