The airline reported a H1 loss of €197 million compared to an H1 profit of €1.15 billion during the same period last year. Traffic for the first six months of the year fell 80 percent from 86 million passengers last year to 17 million during H1 2020.
On Monday (November 2, 2020), Ryanair Holdings plc reported a first half (H1) loss of €197 million compared to a profit of €1.15 billion during the same period last year. The carrier reported a year-over-year traffic decline of 80 percent to 17 million guests, compared to 86 million during H1 2019. As a result of the global COVID-19 pandemic, 99 percent of the Group’s fleet was grounded between mid-March and June with operations returning to service on July 1, 2020. The company has focused on cost reduction and liquidity preservation measures and successfully raised €1.25 billion in financing during September, through equity placing and Eurobond issuance. Ryanair closed H1 with €4.5 billion in cash and a total of €1.5 billion in debt due 2021, including a £600 million UK CCFF and an £850 million Jun’14 bond.
Ryanair’s H1 revenue fell 78 percent to €1.18 billion, with most of the revenue earned during the second quarter. The Group’s ancillary revenue was robust as more guests chose premium options including priority boarding and reserved seating. Ryanair was able to minimize job losses through modest negotiated pay cuts with the airline’s people and unions. During the first half of the year, Lauda was completely restructured, and the Group recorded a €214 million charge on ineffective fuel and currency hedges. T he company has one of the strongest balance sheets in the industry and maintains a BBB credit rating with both S&P and Fitch. Additionally, nearly 80 percent of the Group’s fleet is unencumbered with a book value of over €7 billion.
Ryanair has waited over 18 months since the first scheduled delivery of their first Boeing 737-MAX-200 aircraft. Boeing is currently projecting a fourth quarter 2020 return to service of the aircraft type and Ryanair hopes to receive their first deliveries in early 2021. The company plans to take delivery of around 30 of the game-changing jets before the peak summer 2021 season. The Group received supplier reimbursements related to the MAX grounding during the second quarter, but compensation negotiations with Boeing are ongoing. Ryanair remains committed to the aircraft which has 4 percent more seats, a 16 percent reduction in fuel burn and a 40 percent reduction in noise footprint. The MAX will help Ryanair to grow to 200 million passengers annually over the next five to six years, while substantially lowering their cost base and environmental footprint.
Ryanair Holdings, plc is Europe’s largest airline conglomerate and the parent company of Buzz, Lauda, Malta Air, and Ryanair DAC. The airline usually carries over 154 million passengers annually with over 2,500 daily departures. Ryanair typically serves over 200 destinations in 40 countries with a fleet of 460 Boeing 737 Family aircraft and 20 Airbus A320s. Currently, the low-cost carrier has an additional 321 Boeing 737s on order and the Ryanair Group expects annual traffic to reach 200 million customers by FY 2024. Ryanair has maintained a stellar safety record for over 34 years and prides itself on being “Europe’s greenest cleanest airline group,” promising customers a reduction in CO2 emissions of up to 50%, versus the “Big 4 EU major airlines.”
Source: Ryanair