Low cost airline company Ryanair has reported a net profit of €820 million in the first quarter of its financial year.
The net profits have more than doubled from the previous year, largely driven by increased ticket prices.
Previously, the airline had to lower its ticket prices to fill its planes, but a statement reveals its results for the quarter benefited from a “4% increase in traffic to 58 million passengers and fares rising by 21%.”
The net profit for the quarter ending in June was nearly €820 million, up from €360 million the previous year.
Michael O’Leary, the airline’s CEO, attributed these gains to “a favourable Easter holiday schedule and slightly higher-than-expected last-minute prices.”
Ryanair saw a 20% increase in operating revenue, reaching €4.3 billion during the period, and expects strong travel demand throughout the summer. However, the company warns that the rise in ticket prices in the second quarter will not match the first.
Challenges to growth and expansion
Europe’s largest airline by passenger numbers aims to grow by 3% to transport 206 million passengers annually, despite significant delays in Boeing plane deliveries slowing its progress.
These delays impact growth, with Ryanair planning to introduce 300 new fuel-efficient Boeing 737 MAX 10 aircraft by March 2034, aiming to transport 300 million passengers annually.
O’Leary expects a cautious recovery from the previous 7% fare drop impacting annual results and only a modest increase in net profits this year, while warning of risks from “trade wars, macroeconomic shocks, conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine, and European air traffic controller strikes.”
Ryanair had to cancel 500 flights at the start of July due to a strike by French air traffic controllers. The Irish low-cost airline has called on the European Commission “to take urgent action.”
“It is simply unacceptable for the Commission to remain inactive, allowing the single market to be closed by a small number of French air traffic controllers,” O’Leary said in an online presentation on Monday morning.
British carrier EasyJet, a competitor to Ryanair, had already warned last week that “unexpected and significant costs” from the strike would impact its summer results, estimating a cost of £15 million (€17 million).
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