Ryanair to double number of jets grounded in winter
By Mark Odell in London
Published: May 23 2011 09:26 | Last updated: May 23 2011 09:26
Ryanair plans to double the number of aircraft it grounds in the weaker winter period amid concerns about the economic outlook and high fuel prices as it announced it expected to report flat earnings this year.
Europe’s largest low-cost carrier by passenger numbers said it would temporarily stop flying 80 jets in the winter schedule, between November and April next year, up from 40 last winter, leaving it with a modest 4 per cent growth in capacity in its financial year to the end of March 2012. At the end of March, the airline had a fleet of 272 aircraft.
“Since we have limited visibility on bookings, we remain concerned at the impact of the recession, austerity measures and falling consumer confidence on fares,” Michael O’Leary, chief executive, said in a statement.
The comments came as Ryanair reported a 23 per cent rise in net profit to €374.6m ($525.2m) in the 12 months to the end of March from €305.3m in the same period a year earlier.
The earnings, which included an €26m hit from the cost of the disruption to air travel over Europe caused by the volcanic eruption in Iceland last year, were slightly ahead of expectations but the cautious outlook spooked investors, sending the shares down 5 per cent to €3.36 in early morning trading in Dublin.
Adjusted earnings per share rose 25 per cent to 27 cents (22 cents) as revenues rose 21 per cent to €3.63bn (€2.99bn).
Like all other airlines, Ryanair is facing growing pressure from rising fuel prices and the carrier expects its fuel bill to rise by €350m this year, after a jump of 37 per cent to €1.23bn in the past 12 months to the end of March.
The carrier, which has 90 per cent of its fuel requirements for this financial year hedged at an average of $82 per barrel, said the high oil prices would likely see it report net income for the full year to March 2012 at the same level as this year – €400m excluding the cost of volcanic disruption.
It said higher oil prices were expected to push operating costs up 13 per cent this financial year, while average fares would only rise 12 per cent.
(ft.com)
By Mark Odell in London
Published: May 23 2011 09:26 | Last updated: May 23 2011 09:26
Ryanair plans to double the number of aircraft it grounds in the weaker winter period amid concerns about the economic outlook and high fuel prices as it announced it expected to report flat earnings this year.
Europe’s largest low-cost carrier by passenger numbers said it would temporarily stop flying 80 jets in the winter schedule, between November and April next year, up from 40 last winter, leaving it with a modest 4 per cent growth in capacity in its financial year to the end of March 2012. At the end of March, the airline had a fleet of 272 aircraft.
“Since we have limited visibility on bookings, we remain concerned at the impact of the recession, austerity measures and falling consumer confidence on fares,” Michael O’Leary, chief executive, said in a statement.
The comments came as Ryanair reported a 23 per cent rise in net profit to €374.6m ($525.2m) in the 12 months to the end of March from €305.3m in the same period a year earlier.
The earnings, which included an €26m hit from the cost of the disruption to air travel over Europe caused by the volcanic eruption in Iceland last year, were slightly ahead of expectations but the cautious outlook spooked investors, sending the shares down 5 per cent to €3.36 in early morning trading in Dublin.
Adjusted earnings per share rose 25 per cent to 27 cents (22 cents) as revenues rose 21 per cent to €3.63bn (€2.99bn).
Like all other airlines, Ryanair is facing growing pressure from rising fuel prices and the carrier expects its fuel bill to rise by €350m this year, after a jump of 37 per cent to €1.23bn in the past 12 months to the end of March.
The carrier, which has 90 per cent of its fuel requirements for this financial year hedged at an average of $82 per barrel, said the high oil prices would likely see it report net income for the full year to March 2012 at the same level as this year – €400m excluding the cost of volcanic disruption.
It said higher oil prices were expected to push operating costs up 13 per cent this financial year, while average fares would only rise 12 per cent.
(ft.com)
