easyJet: Results for the year ended 30 September 2011

easyJet has made excellent progress over the past year and has delivered a strong set of results with underlying profit before tax up by £60 million to £248 million despite a £100 million increase in unit fuel costs. This strong performance is due to firm control of costs, effective yield management ,the strength of easyJet’s network and focus on customers

Return on Capital Employ ed (ROCE) improved by 3.9 percentage points to 12.7%
On Time Performance improved by 13 percentage points to 79% with the strong performance across the network leading to a six percentage point improvement in customer satisfaction
Total revenue per seat up 4.1% (3.4% at constant currency) to £55.27, as capacity investments made in FY’10 and the first half of FY’11 matured combined with a strong performance from ancillary revenue, up 12.9% to £11.52 per seat following decisive management action in the second quarter
Passenger numbers rose 11.8% to 54.5 million and load factor improved by 0.3 percentage points to 87.3%. Passengers originating outside of the UK now account for 56%, an increase of 3 percentage points compared to the prior year. Passengers travelling with easyJet on business increased by almost one million to 9.5 million
Underlying cost per seat (excluding fuel and currency movement) fell by 1.3% for the full year and was flat on a reported basis with strong performances in ground handling, maintenance and disruption related costs
The year saw strong operating cash generation of £424 million, resulting in net cash of £100 million as at 30 September 2011
The Board has recommended a one-off return to shareholders, structured as a special dividend, of £150 million. Taken together with the ordinary dividend of 10.5 pence per share, this provides an estimated total cash return to shareholders for the year of £195 million or 45.4 pence per share to be paid on 23 March 2012 to those shareholders on the register at the close of business on 2 March 2012 with an ex dividend date of 29 February 2012
Earnings per share improved by 24.1 pence to 52.5 pence per share, of which around nine pence resulted from changes in the UK corporation tax rate and the resolution of various tax enquiries
Forward bookings are in line with the prior year. With around 45% of winter seats now booked, first half total revenue per seat at constant currency is expected to be up by mid single digits

Note 1: Underlying measures exclude £27 million of cost relating to the volcanic ash cloud and £7 million loss on disposal of A321 aircraft in 2010. There were no underlying adjustments in 2011.

Commenting on the results, Carolyn McCall easyJet Chief Executive said “easyJet has made great progress this year. Our strong operational and financial performance is a result of the hard work and commitment of easyJet’s people in delivering on our cause to make travel easy and affordable for our customers. This delivery leads to tangible returns for our shareholders and we have announced a total cash return to shareholders for the year of approximately £195 million or 45.4 pence per share. Despite the headwinds of higher fuel costs and a weak and uncertain economic outlook, our focus on customers, robust operational performance, the strength of easyJet’s network combined with cost control and capital discipline means that easyJet is well placed to succeed.”