The airline’s pre-tax profits for the year to September 30 suffered a slump of 27.9% - dropping to £495 million from £686 million the previous year.
The airline said a number of “external factors” were to blame for the profit decline, attributing the effect of incidents such as the shutdown of Sharm el Sheikh airport, the devaluation of sterling following June’s Brexit vote and a number of European air traffic control strikes to a total £150 million drop in earnings.
EasyJet added that it had also suffered from “severe disruption” during the year due severe weather and airport issues, which saw 8,349 flights being cancelled, delayed by over three hours or diverted, up from 6,789 in the previous 12 months.
Focusing on Britain’s vote in favour of Brexit, easyJet confirmed plans to create a new operating base in mainland Europe in anticipation of the UK leaving the EU.
Although the carrier confirmed it would retain its headquarters in the UK.
It said it would also be launching an organisational review and would be releasing further details over the next 12 months.
Reviewing the airline’s performance during 2016, Carolyn McCall, easyJet chief executive said the airline had achieved a “resilient performance” despite "a series of external events and foreign exchange headwinds".
"Over the last year we have carried a record 73 million passengers who have enjoyed a third successive year of falling fares. This great value combined with our friendly service on Europe’s leading network means that passenger loyalty continues to grow with 54 million of them flying with us again in 2016 - 21 million more than five years ago.
She added: "The team has worked diligently throughout the year to drive out cost and secure our strong number one positions through disciplined growth. This has enabled easyJet to deliver almost half a billion of profit and an attractive dividend in line with our 50% pay out policy.
"Looking ahead, the easyJet model remains strong as does the demand environment and we continue to see opportunities in the medium term to grow revenue, profit and shareholder returns. In a tougher operating environment strong airlines like easyJet will get stronger and we will build on our already well-established network.
"Almost half of our growth next year will be in the UK, with significant growth also in Switzerland, France and Italy. Our strategy of strengthening our positions at our key airports will see double digit growth in key bases in London, Manchester, Venice, Berlin and Amsterdam."
