British no-frills airline EasyJet on Wednesday reported a 40-percent rise in annual net profit on strong demand for its package holidays.
Profit after tax stood at £452 million ($569 million) in the 12 months to the end of September, building on its return to profit last year following losses in the wake of the Covid pandemic.
It boosted earnings from a profit after tax of £324 million in its 2022/2023 financial year.
“The outlook for EasyJet is positive,” said Kenton Jarvis, the company’s chief financial officer, who will take over as chief executive next year.
He pointed to the popularity of longer travel routes like North Africa and the Canaries, where the airline said it will continue to grow.
“We plan to take 25 percent more customers away on package holidays” which continue to “thrive”, he added.
It reported that for its package holiday division, customer numbers increased by 36 percent from the previous financial year.
The company’s board recommended dividend payments totalling £92 million to be made to shareholders, up from £34 million last year.
