On Monday, Ryanair announced a half-year unchanged profit of €1.15B on an 11% revenue increase to €5.39B. Earnings per share (EPS) increased 3% to €1.02 versus first half 2018.
Today, Ryanair Holdings plc reported flat half-year earnings of €1.15B versus the first half (H1) of 2018. Revenue increased 11% to €5.39B, passenger traffic grew 11% to 85.7M and load factors remained robust at 96%. Earnings per share (EPS) grew 3% to €1.0247/share versus €0.9974 during H1 2018. Revenue per guest grew 1% on average fares that were 5% lower, while ancillary revenue grew 28% to €1.65B. During the period Ryanair flights arrived on-time 90% of the time, excluding Air Traffic Control (ATC) delays. The company opened five new bases in Bordeaux, Marseille, Toulouse, Southend and Berlin, while adding Georgia and Armenia to its network of international destinations. During H1 €250M was returned to shareholders by way of the airline’s €700M share repurchase program. Fuel costs rose 22% due to higher prices and increased traffic. Overall costs (excluding fuel) rose 2% largely due to increased labor costs, higher maintenance costs and Lauda consolidation costs (Ryanair acquired controlling interest in Austrian carrier Lauda in 2018).
In addition to their flagship airline, the Ryanair Group plc also owns subsidiaries Lauda, Buzz and Malta Air. The company has been impacted by longer than anticipated delays with the Boeing 737 MAX-200 (a unique Ryanair derivative moniker), which will result in base cuts and or closures this winter. Ryanair was supposed to receive their first MAX in in the second quarter of 2019, but now hopes to receive the aircraft in March or April 2020. The company now projects, pending EASA approval, to receive around 20 MAX aircraft in time for the busy summer 2020 season, down from a previous delivery projection of 58. Ryanair continues to express confidence in the MAX, which will deliver 4% more seats at a fuel savings of 16%, but doesn’t expect to benefit from the savings until FY 2021. The company has narrowed their full year guidance to a range between €800M - €900M PAT (Positive Accounting Theory).
Source: Ryanair