Profit before tax at easyJet has increased by 34% in the year to 30 September, reaching £610m after another record summer.

The airline’s revenue jumped by 14% year-on-year to £9.3bn, while its operating profit increased by 25% to £597m.

Furthermore, across its holidays division, profit before tax increased by 56% to £190m, jumping by 42% year-on-year in the second half of the year.

easyJet also stated that its profit before tax per seat reached £6.08, which was a “positive step” towards its £7 to £10 target.

Chief executive officer at easyJet, Johan Lundgren, said in his last full-year statement in the role before standing down in January: "This strong performance - resulting in a 34% increase in our annual profits - reflects the effectiveness and execution of our strategy as well as continued popularity of our flights and holidays. It also represents a significant step towards our goal of sustainably generating over £1bn annual profit before tax.

"It has been a privilege to lead easyJet for the past seven years. I am extremely proud of all that has been achieved, which is a result of the hard work of the entire team."

Looking ahead, easyJet expects a seat capacity of around 103 million in the 2025 financial year, an increase of 3%.

It also expects to reduce its winter losses with a "significant improvement in Q1, with Q2 impacted by the timing of Easter".

Furthermore, it plans to grow its holidays division by around a quarter in the current financial year, from a base of 2.6 million customers.

Equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, Aarin Chiekrie, concluded: "easyJet has continued its upward trajectory, cashing in on strong demand from sunseekers, to deliver another record-breaking summer. The revenue and profit uplift were largely fuelled by more holidaymakers snapping up the group’s expanded capacity, which grew 8% last year. That helped to keep planes running at over 89% full on average.

"Given the high fixed costs associated with flying planes, keeping them as full as possible is key to profitability. The package holiday arm is also really taking off, with pre-tax profits up 56% as it continues to steal market share. Growth has been impressive and there looks like a long runway ahead for this thriving segment."

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