EasyJet lifts annual profit by half and proposes special dividend

19th Nov 2013 07:19

Budget airline easyJet has boosted profit by more than half and is returning 308m pounds to shareholders in a move likely to be seen as an attempt to placate rebel shareholder Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou.easyJet said its allocated seating strategy, website improvements and its Europe by easyJet advertising campaign helped it to boost pre-tax profit in the year to September 30th rose 51% to £478m.It is recommending a return to shareholders of £175m in the form of a special dividend of 44.1p a share subject to shareholder approval, in addition to the regular ordinary dividend of £133m or 33.5p a share based on its existing policy of paying out one third of annual profit after tax.Haji-Iouannou has criticised the airline's management for buying too many new aircraft, saying profits should be returned to shareholders instead.EasyJet has responded that it needs the new Airbus jets to replace existing aircraft and cater for expansion through to 2022 and beyond.Total revenue per seat rose 7% to £62.58, seats flown rose 3.3% to 68m, the load factor - how full its aircraft were - increased 0.6 percentage points to 89.3% and passenger numbers rose 4% to 60.8m.Costs per seat without fuel rose 3.9% at constant currency driven by increased charges at regulated airports in Spain and Italy and increased disruption and de-icing costs.It ended the financial year with £1,237m of cash, up £354m against the same time last year, and adjusted net debt of £156m.Chief Executive Carolyn McCall said the airline still had an edge over national flag carriers as well as no-frills rivals such as Ryanair and Germanwings."EasyJet has delivered a strong full year performance and made significant progress against executing its strategic priorities. This means we are well placed to continue to deliver sustainable returns and growth for our shareholders."PW