Originally Posted by
LTNman
No surprises there. To cut its loses further they would need to close the terminal and boot Easyjet out. I can understand why this would be painful but the easyjet flights at Southend don’t have the volumes needed to turn a profit. Come this winter it will only get worse. With Easyjet slowly ramping up flights it will be a long time before Southend will see a profit and Esken hasn’t got the resources to last out. Also despite the claims of new airlines and routes the cupboard seems to be bare..
Reading your post in isolation one wouldn't guess that a buyer is actively being sought for SEN. Of course easyJet aren't currently generating enough volumes for SEN to turn a profit but what they are doing is giving some indication that SEN could be revitalised by a new owner with sufficient funds to offer the necessary incentives to increase easyJet's activities and attract other operators. Esken have openly said that all airline deals in the past few years have had to be on strictly commercial terms that generate profit in themselves. In other words they have been trying to attract custom with one hand tied behind their back. Esken still have ring-fenced resources of £5.3m from Carlyle Global in the bank to keep SEN running so will have at least 12 months to find a buyer. I'm not suggesting that will necessarily be easy and what success they will have remains to be seen. That is the main take-away from these Annual Accounts & Report. That and the probable necessity of concluding the sale of the Biomass Division in the interim to keep Esken as a going concern.