Easyjet shares plunged as it faced up to a £105m hit from the slump in the pound coupled with the impact of falling ticket prices.

The no-frills airline's market value fell almost 9% by the close on Tuesday after it revealed the update.

Easyjet's market capitalisation had already fallen by a third since the Brexit vote, which has sent the pound 17% lower against the US dollar.

That means the cost of fuel - sold in dollars - is higher for the company at a time when airlines are also cutting ticket prices amid tough competition and facing the impact of a string of terror attacks.

Even without the currency fall, oil prices have been rising.


Easyjet chief executive Carolyn McCall said: "The weakness of sterling and the impact of fuel combined are £35m worse than previously expected."

The airline said that revenue per seat - a reflection of ticket prices - would fall by a high single-digit percentage in the first half of the financial year, at the top end of guidance given in November.

It also said plans to secure flying rights in Europe as Britain exits the EU would result in a one-off cost of £10m.

Nov 2016: EasyJet nears plan to limit Brexit impact

Easyjet reported a 7.2% rise in revenue to £997m for the first quarter to the end of December as the number of passengers it carried rose 8.2% to 17.4 million.

But revenue per seat, stripping out currency movements, was down 8.2%.

Ms McCall said it was a solid performance "despite a tough pricing and operating environment".

Easyjet said the expected fall in ticket prices for the first half reflected a later Easter this year as well as "some impact in the half from the Berlin attack".

Last November the airline reported a 28% fall in annual profits to £495m for the year to the end of September, as it faced "unprecedented" events including the collapse in the pound and demand weakened by terror attacks.