REG - Jet2 PLC - Year End Trading Update & £250m Share Buyback

Jet2Announcement

Tue 07:00

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RNS Number : 5094G  Jet2 PLC  29 April 2025

29 April 2025

Jet2 plc ("the Group" or "the Company")

Trading Update

Full year results in line with expectations and £250m Share Buyback announced

Jet2 plc, the Leisure Travel group, announces the following update on trading.

Year ended 31 March 2025 (FY25)

Following the trading update in mid-February, the Board expects to report a
Group profit before foreign exchange revaluation and taxation for the year
ended 31 March 2025 of between £565m and £570m which excludes £10m of
profit on disposal of assets primarily from our retired Boeing 757-200
aircraft fleet. This represents another year of healthy profit growth, up
approximately 9% on the prior year and is in line with current market
expectations((1)).

Notwithstanding the early repayment of the £387.4m convertible bond during
the year, our Balance Sheet position remains strong, with total cash at 31
March 2025 of £3.2bn and an 'Own Cash' balance (excluding customer advance
deposits) of £1.1bn.

Year ending 31 March 2026 (FY26)

On sale capacity for Summer 2025 is currently 8.3% higher than Summer 2024 at
18.6m seats, with our new bases at Bournemouth and London Luton airports
contributing approximately 4% of this growth.

To date we are continuing to see a late booking profile which limits forward
visibility. However, our unique, flexible and fully integrated business model
provides the Group with the ability to balance average load factor, pricing
and product mix, in order to maximise overall profitability. Given the later
bookings, currently our flight-only mix of passengers is a little higher than
the prior year. Pricing remains stable, with our package holiday product
displaying a modest average increase and flight‐only a slight increase,
helping to mitigate previously announced input cost increases. Bookings for
our two new bases remain encouraging.

Operationally we are well set for a successful Summer 2025 season with the
required number of aircraft to support our flying programme and sufficient,
fully trained colleagues to operate our end-to-end product proposition to our
normal high standards of customer care. We are also over 95% hedged for fuel
and foreign exchange for the season and over 80% for the full financial year
and 100% hedged for carbon emissions, providing important cost certainty.

In summary, we are satisfied with our progress for FY26 to date although as
ever, we remain mindful of the potential impact of the current geo-political
and macro-economic environments. With a considerable way to go in the leisure
travel booking cycle and given the limited forward visibility, it is too early
to provide guidance as to Group profitability for FY26.

Capital allocation

Consistent with its capital allocation framework, the Group has:

·    Continued to invest in organic growth, including the launch of two
new operating bases;

·    Purchased 4 Airbus A321neo aircraft using its own cash reserves;

·    Repaid higher cost debt obligations replacing with lower cost,
longer-term funding;

·    Eliminated future dilution for shareholders through £159m of share
purchases via its Employee Benefit Trust and the early repayment of its £387m
convertible bond; and

·    Continued to pay a dividend to shareholders, whilst maintaining a
healthy Own Cash balance to protect against the impact of any unforeseen
events.

In consideration of the Group's sustainable cash generative business model and
strong balance sheet, and reflecting the continued confidence in the prospects
for the business, the Board intends to launch an on-market share buyback
programme of up to £250m. The Company expects to cancel those shares upon
buyback, providing a positive enhancement to EPS. Looking ahead, the Group
will continue to monitor its trading performance and cash generation and
allocate capital in line with its established framework as appropriate.

Steve Heapy, Chief Executive Officer, commented, "We are very pleased with how
the 2025 financial year has ended with another year of healthy profit growth,
which underlines the resilience, flexibility and popularity of our product
offering, plus the consistently outstanding customer service provided by our
Colleagues. Although still very early in FY26, we are satisfied with progress
for Summer 2025 so far. With a steadfast focus on long-term growth together
with our flexible business model, we are well-positioned to navigate the
dynamic market conditions and continue delivering exceptional service-led
holiday experiences to our Customers. We remain confident that as a much
trusted holiday provider with an end-to-end customer care approach underpinned
by our principles of 'People, Service, Profits', our Customers will continue
to travel with us from our Rainy Island to the sun spots of the Mediterranean,
the Canary Islands and to European Leisure Cities."

The Group will  announce its Preliminary Results for the year ended 31 March
2025 on Wednesday 9 July, which will include a fuller outlook for the Summer
2025 trading period.

((1)) Based on Company compiled consensus, the Board believes the current
average market expectations for Group profit before FX revaluation and
taxation for the year ended 31 March 2025 to be £566m (excluding profit on
asset disposals).

Certain information contained in this announcement would have been deemed
inside information as stipulated under the UK version of the EU Market Abuse
Regulation (2014/596) which is part of UK law by virtue of the European Union
(Withdrawal) Act 2018, as amended and supplemented from time to time, until
the release of this announcement.

For further information, please contact:

 Jet2 plc                                                 Tel:          0113 239 7692

 Steve Heapy, Chief Executive Officer
 Gary Brown, Group Chief Financial Officer
 Institutional investors and analysts:                    Tel:              0113 848 0242

 Mark Buxton, Finance & Investor Relations Director
 Cavendish Capital Markets Limited - Nominated Adviser    Tel:          020 7220 0500

 Katy Birkin / Camilla Hume / George Lawson
 Canaccord Genuity Limited - Joint Broker                 Tel:          020 7523 8000

 Adam James / Harry Rees

 Jefferies International Limited - Joint Broker           Tel:          020 7029 8000

 Ed Matthews / Jee Lee
 Burson Buchanan - Financial PR                           Tel:          020 7466 5000

 Richard Oldworth / Toto Berger

Notes to Editors

Jet2 plc is a Leisure Travel Group, comprising Jet2holidays, the UK's leading
provider of ATOL protected package holidays to leisure destinations across the
Mediterranean, Canary Islands and European Leisure Cities and Jet2.com, the
UK's third largest airline by number of passengers flown, which specialises in
scheduled holiday flights. In the financial year ended 31 March 2024, over 68%
of flown passengers took an end-to-end package holiday with the remainder
taking a flight-only.

Jet2 currently operates from 13 UK airport bases at Belfast International,
Birmingham, Bournemouth, Bristol, East Midlands, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds
Bradford, Liverpool John Lennon, London Stansted, London Luton, Manchester and
Newcastle.

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