Jet2 expects to report operating profit of between £435m and £440m for the year to March 2026, in line with market expectations and only slightly below last year’s £446.5m.
This can be seen as a solid result given £11m of startup costs associated with the launch of its new London Gatwick base.
The Gatwick operation commenced on 26 March, taking Jet2 to the UK’s largest holiday airport for the first time and putting over 90% of the British public within a 90-minute drive of one of its now 14 UK bases.
The balance sheet remains strong. Total cash stood at £3.3bn at the year end, with net cash of £2.0bn and a further £500m available through an undrawn revolving credit facility. The group returned £363m to shareholders during the year.
Turning attention to the rest of this year, on-sale capacity for summer 2026 is 7.7% higher at 19.9 million seats, with booked passengers up 6.2% across both package holidays and flight-only.
However, customers have been waiting to book until just before departure since the onset of the Middle East conflict, and management said geopolitical uncertainty is limiting visibility into the peak summer season and beyond. Q1 load factor is currently tracking in line with the prior year.
Investors should be pleased to hear that Jet2 has locked in a strong hedged position, with 87% of its summer fuel requirement covered at an average swap price of $707 per metric tonne, providing a high degree of cost certainty.
Steve Heapy, Chief Executive Officer, said: “FY26 was another strong year for Jet2, topped off by the successful launch of operations at London Gatwick which is performing ahead of our initial expectations with over 0.4m passengers booked for the summer season. As ever, our focus on providing the very best Customer First service underpinned our performance in the year, and with that, I would like to thank every one of our Colleagues for their unwavering hard work and support.
“Our fully integrated, customer-focused and service-led business model enables growth and resilience, setting the business apart when it comes to earning customer loyalty and repeat bookings. This is supported by our growing fleet of more fuel efficient and quieter A321neo aircraft, with 31 in operation this summer.”