Irish-based low-cost carrier Ryanair (FR) has announced a 25% leap in annual post-tax profits to a record €503 million ($641 million), compared to €401 million in the year-ago period. It warned that FY13’s figures are likely to decline, given the combination of rising fuel costs and Europe’s gloomy economic outlook.
FR’s results included a 19% increase in revenue to €4.32 billion and a 5% rise in passengers to 75.8 million, despite the grounding of up to 80 of its 294 Boeing 737s over the winter.
Ancillary revenue rose 11% to €886 million, or 21% of total revenue. Excluding fuel, sector length-adjusted unit costs were flat.
The company’s fuel bill went up €360 million and it anticipates further increases in the coming year. It has hedged 90% of its FY13 fuel at approximately $101 per barrel, a 22% increase on last year, but significantly lower than current prices, the airline said.
The carrier again proposed grounding a large proportion of its fleet next winter, because of fuel costs and what O’Leary described as “the refusal of some monopoly airports, notably Dublin and [London] Stansted, to lower winter charges. This makes it more logical to ground up to 80 aircraft rather than suffer losses flying at very low winter yields in FY13.”
Despite this move, it anticipated traffic again will grow to 79 million passengers, with annual profits in the €400-€440 million range.
Looking forward, FR CEO Michael O’Leary forecast that Europe’s fiscal problems will result in more airline bankruptcies, following Malev, Spanair and Cimber Sterling and the possible closure later this year of bmibaby if a purchaser is not found.
Article Source : ATW Daily News
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