The airline tells investors it tends to do well in tougher economic times as it pays a price for post-pandemic struggles which took the gloss off a strong summer performance.
EasyJet says it is expecting to build on a strong summer, despite pressures on consumer budgets, after COVID and post-pandemic disruption pushed it to an annual loss.
The no-frills carrier reported a headline loss before tax of £178m for the 12 months to 30 September.
While that sum was well down on the previous financial year’s loss of £1.14bn, it reflected the company’s difficulties in getting back up to speed as pandemic restrictions were eased across Europe.
EasyJet was among airlines called out for rafts of cancellations – many of them last-minute – last spring.
While easyJet was not immune to staffing woes during the peak summer season, it reported its most profitable quarter ever as earnings soared to £674m between July and September.
The airline carried almost 70 million passengers over the 12 months compared to 20 million in 2020/21. Revenue rose to £5.8bn from £1.5bn.