Member Article

easyJet on Cloud 9 as pretax profits soar to £686m

Low cost airline easyJet has announced record profits and returns for the year, reporting a healthy rise in key financial indicators.

Pretax profit grew to record levels for a fifth consecutive year, up 18% to £686m from £581m last year. Similarly, total revenue increased by 3.5% to £4,686m from £4,527m.

Passengers increased by 6% to 68.6 million, with a record load factor in August of 94.4%, whilst revenue per seat increased by 1.5% year-on-year on a constant currency basis, with capacity up by 5% to 75 million seats.

The company also cited confidence in its pipeline of opportunities in existing markets, reporting that its current operations would be supported by 36 additional aircraft, secured through a 2013 framework agreement with Airbus.

These aircrafts will be delivered between 2018 and 2021 and will give easyJet a further expected cost saving of £27m by 2021.

Carolyn McCall, easyJet Chief Executive, said: “Our outlook for the longer term is positive. We expect demand in our markets to be sustained and for easyJet to continue to be a winner in its markets.

“We will see passenger growth of 7% a year, sustaining margins through rigorous cost control and the benefit of fleet up-gauging, resulting in positive profit momentum.

“We remain totally focused on our network advantage, digital leadership and offering our customers great low fares and service.

She added: “We continue to invest in profitable growth, ensuring our digital advantage and giving our customer good value fares.”