Ryanair profits leap as passengers defect from flag carriers
Ryanair saw profits leap 17% to €452m for the half year ended September 30.
Revenues for the half year rose 23% to €2.2bn as traffic grew 10% to 40.1m passengers. Average fares rose 12% to €44 though the airlines’ costs were 13% higher as the sector length increased by 12%.
Chief executive Michael O’Leary said: "A 17% increase in half year net profit to €452m is testimony to the robustness of Ryanair’s lowest costlowest fare model which continues to deliver traffic and profit growth even during a deep recession.
"We continue to gain market share across Europe from the big three high fare flag carrier groups led by Air France, BA and Lufthansa. We expect this trend to continue."
Ryanair’s fuel bill rose 44% due to more flights, longer sectors and higher prices. It said it had hedged 90% of its fuel costs for 2011 at $730 per tonne and 60% hedged for 2012 at $760 per tonne.
On announcing its results for the half-year, Ryanair welcomed news that airports operator BAA will be forced to sell Stansted, one of its main bases. It added: "This, we hope, will allow the new owners to work with Ryanair to reverse Stansted’s traffic declines in recent years under the BAA monopoly’s high costs and mis-management."
Ryanair said the ash cloud cost it €32m, which was €18m less than originally forecast.
Although cautious about the outlook for the rest of the year, Ryanair said it expected winter to perform slightly better than previously forecast and full year profits should be higher than originally anticipated.
It added: "We now believe that full year net profit will exceed the upper end of our previous forecast range (€350m to €375m) and will now finish (subject to Q4 yields) within a range of €380m to €400m."
Alitalia also announced big improvements in its profits for the third quarter of this year, which were up €38m from just €1m in the third quarter of last year.
The Italian flag carrier saw passenger numbers for the third quarter rise 11% to 7.1m and revenue increase 15% to €971m.
Its profits for the nine-months reached €125m, which was €198m better than the previous year.
As a result, Alitalia expects its end of year result to be better than originally forecast and now believes it will break even in 2011.
By Linsey McNeill
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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