Ryanair profit rises 26%

No frills airline Ryanair said its profit rose 26 per cent in the year to March but was cautious about prospects for future growth.

The airline's profit for the year was €401 million, compared to €319 million the previous year.

Revenue gained 21 per cent to €3.63 billion, fuelled by rising airfares, which were 12 per cent higher than the same period a year earlier. Sector length increased by 10 per cent in the period, Ryanair said.

Traffic rose 8 per cent in the same period, with the airline carrying 72 million passengers.

However the airline said it was facing challenges from rising costs, with oil prices and increased airport operator charges the main contributors. Fuel costs were up 37 per cent compared to the previous year, reaching €1.2 billion. When fuel was excluded, unit costs were only up 3 per cent.

The company said it had hedged 90 per cent of its fuel requirements for its upcoming fiscal year at about $82 per barrel, 12 per cent more than last year's prices but "significantly below" current prices.

The company is also planning to ground up to 80 aircraft - double the number last year - for the winter.

Looking ahead, the airline was cautious as it predicted growth of 10 per cent in traffic figures in the first half of the year, but predicted traffic would fall by 4 per cent in the second half.

For the year, Ryanair is anticipating a 4 per cent increase in passenger figures to 75 million.

Operating costs are also expected to rise further in the year, gaining 13 per cent as a result of higher fuel prices.

"Since we have limited visibility on bookings, we remain concerned at the impact of the recession, austerity measures, and falling consumer confidence on fares," the company said in a statement.

"Despite these concerns we cautiously expect that our average fares will rise by up to 12 per cent this year due to a better mix of new routes and bases, slower traffic growth, and higher competitor fuel surcharges. However, these higher fares will only help us to finance higher fuel and rising sector length related costs, and accordingly, we expect profit after tax for fiscal year 2012 to be similar to the fiscal year 2011 result of €400 million."