Budget airline easyJet has notched up a 34% increase in annual profits and said the “future for the company is bright”.

The carrier reported headline pre-tax profits of £610 million for the year to September 30, up from £455 million 12 months earlier.

It carried 7% more passengers in the most recent 12-month period at 89.7 million.

Trading was also boosted by strong demand for easyJet Holidays, with the division seeing pre-tax profits jump to £190 million, up 56% from a year earlier.

This was driven by a growth in customer numbers of 36%.

Outgoing chief executive Johan Lundgren, who will be replaced by chief financial officer Kenton Jarvis on January 1, said: “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 £1 billion 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.

“I am pleased to be leaving a strong easyJet, the future for the company is bright and I look forward to seeing Kenton delivering his ambitious plans, generating positive shareholder returns while making low-cost travel easy for millions of customers.”

Mr Jarvis said: “The outlook for easyJet is positive and travel remains a firm priority with consumers who value our low fares, unrivalled network and friendly service.

“The airline will continue to grow, particularly on popular longer leisure routes like north Africa and the Canaries, and we plan to take 25% more customers away on package holidays, as easyJet Holidays continues to thrive.

“I am looking forward to taking over the controls of this fantastic business in the new year and we still have a lot to go for as we progress towards our ambitious targets.”

EasyJet said its airline business reduced winter losses by £40 million through “a combination of productivity and utilisation benefits”.

It received 16 new A320neo aircraft in the year, raising the average number of seats on its planes from 179 to 181, resulting in cost efficiencies of around £25 million.

EasyJet’s board is recommending dividend payments totalling £92 million are made to shareholders, up from £34 million last year.

This represents 20% of the headline profit after tax.

EasyJet said it expects to reduce winter losses again in 2024/25, with a “significant improvement” in the three months to the end of December.

It also anticipates that available seat kilometres – a measure combining its available seats with the distance flown – will increase by around 8% in the next 12 months.

The average length of its flights is expected to rise by around 5%.