Ryanair (RYA.I) reported a near-record profit of 1.43 billion euros ($1.57 billion) in the year to end-March and said it was cautiously optimistic that profits will climb marginally in the coming year due to strong summer demand.
Ryanair, Europe’s largest airline by passenger numbers, expects summer European short-haul capacity to remain below pre-COVID levels, with peak fares going ahead of last year. As a result, a continuing compression on capacity would favor Ryanair.
“The large backlog of OEM (original equipment manufacturer)aircraft deliveries is likely to constrain capacity growth in Europe for at least four more years which confers a considerable growth premium on Ryanair’s remaining 110 (Boeing) B737 Gamechangers deliveries over the next three summers,” said CEO Michael O’Leary.
“Our widening unit cost advantage over all competitors, fuel hedging, strong balance sheet, and very low-cost aircraft order book, as well as our proven operational resilience, creates enormous growth opportunities for Ryanair over the coming years.”
The low-cost carrier flew 168.6 million passengers in the year to March 31, surpassing its pre-pandemic record of 149 million. It repeated its goal of 185 million visitors this fiscal year.
However, recent Boeing delivery delays may push part of that growth into the lower-yielding second half and cut the aim significantly. In June and July, it expects a 10-jet shortage.
After good Christmas traffic and rates, Ryanair raised its after-tax profit prediction to 1.325 billion to 1.425 billion euros in January. The corporation polled analysts and predicted 1.398 billion euros.
The turnaround from a 355 million euro loss in the pandemic-hit financial year came near Ryanair’s 1.45 billion euro profit on March 31, 2018.
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