As UK budget carrier EasyJet’s chief, Johan Lundgren, prepares to hand over the top post to successor Kenton Jarvis, he leaves the airline in a strong position with lower winter losses and significant improvement in full-year profit.
EasyJet says productivity and utilisation measures helped cut winter losses by £40 million ($50 million) and contributed to a pre-tax profit of £610 million, up by just over one-third.
This profit included a record figure of £960 million for the second half of the year.
It is expecting further reductions in winter losses for the current fiscal year, 2024-25, with a “significant improvement” in the first quarter – which is 80% sold.
The second quarter is 26%-sold, up two points on last year despite the shift of the 2025 Easter holiday period into the third quarter.
EasyJet is expecting to hike capacity by 12% in the first half and 5% in the second – largely driven by increasing sector lengths, with total seat numbers rising by 3% over the year.
Over the course of the year EasyJet increased its fleet by a net 11 aircraft. It introduced 24 aircraft, comprising 16 new Airbus A320neo-family jets plus eight older leased mid-life A320s.
These were offset by the exit of 13 A319s.
EasyJet has 85 A320neo-family aircraft in its fleet and its backlog with Airbus features another 299, plus purchase rights on a further 100. It says this backlog will allow it to complete the replacement of A319s as well as half its older A320s.
The carrier forecasts a 25% rise in the number of customers for its holiday division in 2024-25. The holiday arm turned in a full-year pre-tax profit of £190 million for 2023-24, on the back of a 36% increase in customers.
Chief executive-designate Kenton Jarvis, who takes over in January, says the outlook for the company is “positive”, adding that the airline will continue growing particularly on “popular longer leisure routes” such as those to the Canary Islands and North Africa.
“We still have a lot to go for as we progress towards our ambitious targets,” he says.
EasyJet is aiming to achieve sustainable generation of £1 billion in pre-tax profits, and outgoing chief Lundgren says the full-year results are a “significant step” towards this target.
