easyJet has swung into an annual profit following a record summer and reported pre-tax profits of £432 million in the year to September.
This is against losses of £208 million compared to the previous year, whilst underlying profits stood at £455 million against £178 million loss in 2021-2022.
Over the second half of the peak season, the budget airline saw a record breaking performance which will help to shrug off a 30% hike in costs as easyJet’s fuels bill jumped by 59% to £2 billion in the year.
Israel and Jordan flights have temporarily paused and with Egypt the airline has a knock-on-effect which represent a combined 4% of their overall flights.
EasyJet said, “Additionally there was a broader impact on near-term flight searches and bookings across the industry, though this seems to be coming back with a recent improvement in trading.
“Accordingly, despite positive underlying strength, easyJet does not currently expect its first quarter loss to improve year on year.”
Johan Lundgren, easyJet’s chief executive, said, “We see a positive outlook for this year with airline and holidays bookings both ahead year on year and recent consumer research highlights that around three-quarters of Britons plan to spend more on their holidays versus last year with travel continuing to be the top priority for household discretionary spending.”
The group resumed dividends with a 4.5p a share payout which will be due early next year and this could increase to 20% of profit after tax.
