British low-flying airline EasyJet on Wednesday reported a 40 percent rise in annual net profit on strong demand for its holiday packages.
After-tax profits were £452m ($569m) in the 12 months to the end of September, with last year’s return to profits hit by losses due to the Covid pandemic.
It boosted profits after tax of £324m in the 2022/2023 financial year.
“The outlook for EasyJet is positive,” said Kenton Jarvis, the company’s chief financial officer, who will take over as CEO next year.
He pointed to the popularity of longer journeys such as North Africa and the Canaries, where he said the airline will continue to grow.
“We plan to take away 25 percent more customers on package holidays” and “they continue to grow,” he added.
Regarding the distribution of holiday packages, it reported a 36% increase in the number of customers compared to the previous year.
The company’s board recommended a dividend payment of £92m to shareholders, up from £34m last year.
