More than one in five easyJet passengers were travelling for business, the no-frills airline said yesterday.

The recession has put travel budgets under pressure at most companies and easyJet said that it had benefited from passengers trading down from traditional, full-service carriers.

Andy Harrison, its chief executive, said: “We have definitely grown our share in the business market.” About 15 per cent of easy-Jet’s sales now come via corporate travel agents.

Its strong performance in this market was reflected in its results for the year to September 30, published yesterday. Revenues rose 13 per cent to £2.67 billion and passenger numbers were 3.4 per cent up at £45.2 million. Profits fell 65 per cent to £43.7 million largely thanks to an £86 million increase in its fuel bill.

Oil prices hit a record high last year and easy-Jet’s fuel-hedging strategy meant that those costs were locked in even as prices fell this year. However, the carrier has now locked in lower prices for the coming year and estimates that it will gain about £100 million as the oil price rises again.

EasyJet also warned of a “tough winter” as rising unemployment hits demand for travel. It has sold about 45 per cent of its winter schedule, but yield — the amount of money it makes from each seat — has fallen as it cuts prices to fill flights.

The pessimistic short-term outlook weighed on the share price yesterday as it fell 14.2p, or 3.6 per cent, to 378p.

Mr Harrison said that easyJet’s performance in the past year had been “extremely resilient”.

“We are one of the very few European airlines to make a profit during the last 12 recessionary months. This is a tribute to the strength of our business model and the quality of our people and our network. We see a tough winter ahead. We are focusing our efforts on further cost savings and efficiency improvements, together with optimising route profitability and aircraft allocation.”

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