British budget airline easyJet warned on Thursday that the high cost of fuel could cut full year pretax profits 42 percent to GBP110 million pounds, and unveiled plans to cut capacity this winter.

The company said in a statement the high price of oil had added around USD185 million to its fuel bill, which in turn had hit margins.

EasyJet said it had offset around 50 percent of its fuel bill increase through cost cuts, while capacity growth for this winter would be cut to 4-6 percent to reduce unprofitable flying.

Third-quarter revenue was up 32 percent to GBP641 million as it absorbed the acquisition of GB Airways, while revenue per seat was up 12 percent in the same period.

"EasyJet's Q3 trading update was broadly reassuring for the current year and showed strong growth in volumes and revenues... We view the move to cut capacity growth this winter as sensible," Credit Suisse analyst Gerald Khoo said in a note.

The shares, down nearly 40 percent in the year to date, closed on Wednesday at 369.25 pence, valuing the airline at around GBP1.5 billion.