Irish low-cost airline Ryanair Holdings increased profits by 34 per cent to a record €1.92 billion in the last financial year. The performance was mainly boosted by higher revenues, the company said in its earnings report today. Ryanair is Europe’s biggest airline by passenger numbers.
Beating analysts
The results slightly beat analysts’ expectations, who had expected a profit of 1.905 billion euros for the year to the end of March. Ryanair cut its net profit estimate in January to a range of 1.85 billion to 1.95 billion euros when some online travel agents suddenly stopped selling its flights.
Passenger numbers rose nine per cent to 184 million. Compared to the time before the covid-19 pandemic, the number of passengers was 23 per cent higher. Revenue rose 25 per cent to €13.44 billion. The company opened five new bases and more than 200 new routes. Aircraft load factor rose one percentage point to 94 percent.
Buyout
CEO Michael O’Leary warned two weeks ago that ticket prices were likely to rise more slowly over the summer than he expected in April. At the time, he predicted a price increase of five to 10 per cent. The airline added that the weaker forecast was based on the company’s heavy reliance on last-minute bookings for summer flights.
The company confirmed that it expects passenger numbers to rise to 198 million to 200 million in the current financial year. In March, the firm reduced that number from the original 205 million due to delays in aircraft deliveries.
The company also announced a €700 million buyout of its shares. It plans to officially launch it this week.
Source: ČTK
