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Lionel Cironneau/AP/Press Association Images
European budget airline easyJet Chief executive Carolyn McCall
# EasyJet
easyJet revenue and passenger numbers up
Passenger numbers rose 7.1 per cent to 58.4 million in 2012.
EASYJET HAS SEEN an increase in profit and passengers in 2012.
In its latest figures for the year ended 30 September 2012, the airline said that profit before tax was up by 27.9 per cent to a record £317 million and pre-tax profit margins grew by 1 percentage point to 8.2 per cent – despite a £182 million increase in unit fuel costs.
Seats flown grew by 5.5 per cent to 65.9 million and passenger numbers rose 7.1 per cent to 58.4 million.
Revenue
Total revenue per seat grew by 5.9 per cent to £58.51, driven by a number of factors including the success of the ‘Europe by easyJet’ campaign.
Cost per seat excluding fuel fell by 1 per cent for the full year. The easyJet Lean programme delivered”significant savings” in ground handling and non-regulated airport charges, by the increased number of larger A320 aircraft in the fleet and the exceptionally low levels of disruption in comparison to previous years, said the airline.
easyJet generated operating cash (excluding dividend payments) of £457 million in the year, an increase of 7.8 per cent compared to the prior year.
Commenting on the results, Carolyn McCall easyJet Chief Executive said:
These results demonstrate that easyJet is a structural winner in the European short-haul market against both legacy and low cost competition. The strength of easyJet’s business model and strategy coupled with the hard work and dedication of the easyJet team has delivered record profits as well as a significant increase in returns for shareholders during the year.
As “evidence of its confidence in easyJet’s current position and future prospects”, the company’s board now proposes to increase the dividend from 10.5p to 21.5p for the year ended September 2012. This will see its shareholders benefit from easyJet’s success with £85m of dividends.
Read: Ryanair apologises to EasyJet founder>
