EasyJet profits soar on holiday demand, smaller winter losses

The company on Wednesday posted a 34% rise in pre-tax profit to £610m on a 14% rise in revenues to £9.3bn. The dividend was lifted to 12.1p a share from 4.5p.

Profits at easyJet’s holiday division soared 56% to £190m after another record-breaking summer as seasonal earnings rose 11% to £960m.

Sector rivals such as Ryanair and Wizz have both faced problems ranging from engine issues at the latter that has grounded some of its planes, delivery delays from beleaguered manufacturer Boeing and a rougher consumer environment where customers are reining in spending and looking for better value.

EasyJet said it now expects a 3% rise in capacity for the current fiscal year to September 2025 to about 103 million seats, with holiday customers growing by about 25% year on year.

"The airline will continue to grow, particularly on popular longer leisure routes like North Africa and the Canaries and we plan to take 25% more customers away on package holidays," said chief executive-designate Kenton Jarvis, who is replacing Johan Lundgren next year.

The year was not without its turbulence, with Israel's war on Gaza and Lebanon disrupting routes and forcing fuel costs higher. Air traffic control delays and industrial action also continued to run at "too high a level”. EasyJet paid out £187m in compensation to passengers under European Union legislation, although this was lower than the previous year's £211m.

Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor, said the launch of the airline's holidays unit "has come at the right time with cost-conscious consumers searching for value packages".

"This also chimes with the group’s value-conscious appeal and the increasing body of evidence which tends to suggest that the family holiday remains almost sacrosanct and outside of normal budgetary restraints, which has played into the hands of easyJet and its keenly priced offerings of flights and holiday packages."

"Its network of destinations are usually convenient and difficult for some of its competitors to mirror, while the group has also managed to keep a relative lid on its prices."

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com