Yahoo Finance EasyJet Special Dividend As Profits Rise 51%
EasyJet (Other OTC: EJTTF - news) is planning to return £175m to shareholders in a special dividend after full year profits rose 51% to £478m - a record for the company.
The no-frills airline said that in addition to the one-off payment of 44.1p per share - subject to shareholder approval - it would also pay a regular ordinary dividend of 33.5p per share worth £133m.
EasyJet said it ended its financial year to September 30 with £1.24bn in cash - an increase of £354m on the previous 12 months - and as a result the board was recommending the extra payout.
Total (NYSE: TOT - news) revenue rose 10.5% over the period to £4.25bn as it flew 68 million people while revenue per seat increased by 7% to an average of more than £62.
The Luton-based carrier hailed the success of recent initiatives, such as allocated seating and fast-track security, for boosting its popularity with more affluent, older fliers and business passengers.
Fuel costs climbed to £1.2bn.
EasyJet chief executive Carolyn McCall said: "As evidence of our continued confidence in the future prospects of the business, the board has recommended to return £308m to shareholders through the combination of an ordinary and special dividend.
"We will continue to deliver our strategy of offering our customers low fares to great destinations with friendly service so that we can continue to win in a more competitive market.
"This means we are well placed to continue to deliver sustainable returns and growth for our shareholders," she added.
EasyJet had said in October that annual profits would be at the upper end of expectations, and cited keen demand for flights during July and August.
