EasyJet shares crashed on Thursday as investors disembarked from the airliner after the company said they would expand their fleet and restart dividends.
EasyJet said that they are aiming to buy up to 257 of the AirBus jets and aim to restore EasyJet’s dividends, which were suspended during COVID.
While the proposed deal with Airbus is still a subject to shareholder approval, EasyJet is reportedly aiming to add up to 157 aircraft and 100 A321neo jets to its existing 330 aircraft.
EasyJet shares are down 7.50%, while AirBus shares are up 0.65% at the time of writing.
In addition to the suspended dividends, the company also recorded substantial losses during the pandemic.
Now, after a record summer, the company forecasts an annual next year profit of up to 460 million GBP. EasyJet further mentioned that they are aiming to hit a medium-term pretax profit of more than 1 billion GBP.
Alas, for all the upbeat targets and strong performance over the summer, investors were nervous about the investment in the new fleet and shares sank on Thursday.
The human tragedy unfolding in Israel causing cancelled flights was also hitting sentiment in the airline sector.
Carbon Capture
Earlier this week, EasyJet also signed up for AirBus’s Carbon Capture Offer, becoming the first airline in the world to join the initiative.
AirBus uses Direct Air Carbon Capture and Storage (DACCS) technology, which utilises high-powered extraction fans to filter and remove CO2 emissions from the air, after which the gases are stored in underground reservoirs.
The DACCS technology is said to have the ability to extract and capture the exact amount of CO2 gas released by any aeroplane’s engine during any flight.