LONDON—Ryanair Holdings PLC, Europe's largest budget
airline, on Tuesday said full-year net income jumped 66% and that
it should rise further this year when it expects to carry more than
100 million passengers for the first time.
Net income rose to €867 million ($949 million) in the
year to the end of March from €523 million a year earlier,
while sales increased 12% to €5.7 billion, Ryanair said.
The Dublin-based carrier had forecast net profit of €840
million to €850 million.
Unit costs fell 5% last year but with the fuel effect stripped
out costs were unchanged, the airline said.
Long known for its minimalist service and confrontational
approach to passengers, Ryanair has spent the past two years
improving its image as it began targeting higher-paying passengers
through business friendly routes and new pay-for amenities. The
changes have driven an improvement in financial performance and
lifted its share price.
Ryanair should sell about 90% of seats to help it reach the
milestone 100 million passengers figure for the year for the first
time, said Neil Sorahan, the airline's chief financial officer
Forward bookings for the current year are around 4% stronger
than in the year-earlier period, the airline said. Ryanair will
again lease six aircraft at its peak this year to satisfy strong
demand as it waits to grow its owned fleet of Boeing 737 jetliners,
Mr. Sorahan said. That is expected to end next year when plane
deliveries from the manufacturer start rising.
Ryanair, which has a reputation for starting the year with a
conservative outlook, said net profit this year should be
€940 million to €970 million. An average of
analysts surveyed by FactSet estimated the discount airline will
deliver a net profit of €977 million.
Yields should fall by around 2% in the ongoing financial year,
it said.
Fuel costs per passenger should fall around 5%, Mr. Sorahan
said.
Mr. Sorahan said the budget carrier still sees strong
opportunities throughout Europe. "Germany is a bit of a standout at
the moment," he said, with Deutsche Lufthansa AG and Air Berlin PLC
cutting flights, he said. Ryanair has a relatively low market share
in Germany, though it has "aspirations to grow that significantly,"
he said.
Write to Robert Wall at robert.wall@wsj.com
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