Easyjet reports significant increase in profits over the summer, but warns of ongoing political crises as potential threat to the business. Thanks to a strong summer trade, British low-cost airline Easyjet was able to increase its annual pre-tax profit to £455 million (approximately €523 million). This represents a rise of £633 million compared to the previous year's loss of £178 million, as the company announced in London on Tuesday. CEO Johan Lundgren expressed confidence, stating, "The outlook for this year is positive."

Both bookings for Easyjet flights and for the tour operator Easyjet Holidays have increased compared to the previous year. The company plans to become even more profitable in the medium term and aims for an annual profit before taxes of more than one billion pounds. An important contribution to this is expected from Easyjet Holidays, which alone is expected to contribute 250 million pounds to the profit - compared to 122 million pounds in the previous year. Lundgren emphasized the importance of capital discipline and the low-cost model in achieving ambitious medium-term goals.

In the past fiscal year, Easyjet was able to increase its revenues by more than 40 percent to nearly 8.2 billion pounds. This was due to both strong demand for air travel after the end of the pandemic and the company's own "pricing strength," according to the company. In total, Easyjet transported almost 83 million passengers in the past year, which corresponds to a 19 percent increase compared to the previous year. The airline expects further growth of around nine percent for the year 2024.

To protect itself from rising fuel costs, EasyJet has already secured approximately three quarters of its kerosene requirements for the first half of 2024 through futures contracts. Shareholders are planned to participate in the company's success with a proposed increase in the dividend to 20 percent of the total after-tax profit in 2024. For the fiscal year 2023, the company will already distribute 4.5 pence per share or a total of 34 million pounds, which corresponds to approximately ten percent of the total after-tax profit.

However, Easyjet points out possible risks due to geopolitical developments that could affect business results. "The early winter results for the fiscal year 2022 will be influenced by the conflict in the Middle East," the company explained and announced a temporary interruption of flights to Israel and Jordan. Despite the regained strength, Easyjet currently does not expect an improvement in first-quarter losses compared to the previous year. However, the current booking strength for summer 2024 and limited flight offerings in Europe provide a positive outlook for the overall year.