Ryanair’s results "fly", thanks to strong Easter

A strong Easter bank holiday weekend helped Ryanair to a 55% rise in profit for the three months to the end of June. The airline reported a profit after tax of €397m for the quarter, compared to an average forecast of €366 million in a company poll of analysts. 

Ryanair generated €1.9 billion in revenue during the quarter, up 13% on the same period last year and carried 35m passengers (+12%). The company notes the results are flattered by the fact that Easter fell in April this year, skewing comparisons with 2016, when it was in March.

The airline said it still expects full-year profit to fall between €1.4 billion and €1.45 billion. Costs per passenger were down 6 percent in the three months to the end of March, with a fall of 3 percent before falls in
fuel prices were accounted for. It said some of the falls were due to declines in the value of sterling and may not be repeated.

Commenting on the results, Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary said:  "While Q1 average fares rose by 1% to just over €40, this was due to a strong April (boosted by Easter) offset by adverse sterling, lower bag revenue as more customers switch to our two free carry-on bag policy, and yield stimulation following a series of security events in Manchester and London."

The company warned rivals that it may cut its late summer fares by as much as 9% compared to last year and said some short-haul carriers may struggle to survive with prices at those levels.

Ryanair executives also repeated warnings of major flight disruptions between the UK and Europe if Brexit talks fail to agree a bi-lateral deal on flights. The airline has warned it may cancel flights and move operations abroad if there is no agreement well in advance of Brexit. "We need clarity so that we can plan our schedules for 2019," chief financial officer Neil Sorahan told the BBC.