An ordinary dividend in respect of the year ended 30 September 2019 of 43.9 pence per share, or £174 million, based on headline profit after tax, is to be proposed at the forthcoming Annual General Meeting. These accounts do not reflect this proposed dividend.
An ordinary dividend of 58.6 pence per share, or £233 million, in respect of the year ended 30 September 2018 was paid in the year ending 30 September 2019. An ordinary dividend of 40.9 pence per share, or £162 million, in respect of the year ended 30 September 2017 was paid in the year ended 30 September 2018.
Total revenue increased by 8.3% to £6,385 million (2018: £5,898 million) due to an increase in capacity. Total revenue per seat decreased by 1.8% to £60.81 (2018: £61.94), reflecting economic uncertainty across their markets, weakness in the second quarter and subsequent recovery in the second half. Revenue per seat at constant currency decreased by 2.7%.
Other financial highlights include:
Passenger revenue grew by 6.9%. The drivers of this performance were:
The self-help initiatives delivered in the second half, mainly focusing on optimising late yield.
Strength in the UK regions and in France
A full year's contribution from their Tegel base in Berlin
Positive impact from strikes at British Airways and Ryanair.
Offset by:
A tougher comparison as the previous year had benefited from the collapse of Monarch, cancellations at Ryanair and industrial action in France
Economic uncertainty in core markets
Weakness in the second quarter, as customers' propensity to book flights was impacted by uncertainty surrounding the original date of 29 March 2019 proposed for the UK to leave the European Union
Softer London market
Drone sightings at London Gatwick
Ancillary revenue grew 13.7% to £1,376 million (2018: £1,210 million). This reflected their continued focus on a data-driven programme of products and services which their customers value, including:
Seasonal pricing on allocated seating
Introduction of the fourth band of seat pricing
Loss of revenue from changes to admin fees more than offset by strong performance of ancillary revenues generally.
