RYANAIR MADE a loss of €10.9 million in the three months to the end of December but increased its full-year profit guidance as a result of a better-than-expected performance on average fares in the second half of its financial year.
Ryanair is now projecting that its net profit will be about €275 million for the year to the end of March 2010. It had previously said its surplus would be at the lower end of a range from €200 million to €300 million.
Ryanair posted a net profit after tax and exceptional items of €362.6 million for the nine months to the end of December, indicating that it will post a loss of about €87 million for the fourth quarter.
This will largely be due to higher fuel costs in the quarter compared with the same period of 2009.
Ryanair also said it expected to be in a position to return surplus cash to shareholders in 2013 following the failure to agree a deal with Boeing before Christmas for an order of up to 200 new aircraft.
Ryanair deputy chief executive Howard Millar told The Irish Timesthat the distribution of the dividend would be by way of a "lumpy" and possibly "one-off" payment.
The third-quarter results published yesterday were ahead of market expectations – analysts had been forecasting a net loss of about €35 million for the period.
Chief executive Michael O’Leary described the results as “disappointing, although better than expected”.
The airline said a 37 per cent fall in fuel costs to €207 million had offset a 12 per cent decline in average fares. Its unit costs, excluding fuel, fell by 4 per cent, although staff expenses rose by 10 per cent as its headcount increased.
Ryanair’s revenues in the quarter rose by 1 per cent to €612 million, while the number of passengers carried was up 14 per cent at 16 million.
The airline said yields had improved due to a better mix of routes and bases, with Ryanair cutting capacity at “high-cost airports such as Dublin and Stansted”.
Ryanair expects to carry 66 million passengers in its current financial year and has forecast that this will rise by 10 per cent to 73 million in fiscal 2011.
On the possibility of reviving the Boeing talks, Mr O’Leary told analysts on a conference call in London: “We have no plans to reopen those discussions nor are there any talks ongoing with Boeing,” before adding that he “wouldn’t rule out” a possible deal. This however would have to be “on materially better terms than were being pursued before Christmas”.
Ryanair expects to be carrying 85 million passengers a year by the time of the cash distribution to shareholders in 2013.
Ryanair once again said the opening of the new Terminal 2 at Dublin airport should be postponed. “We call for the immediate mothballing of this T2 white elephant, which will at least eliminate the operating costs associated with its opening.”
Joe Gill, aviation analyst with Bloxham Stockbrokers, said Ryanair’s expected profit performance this year was impressive. “It’s a huge number in the context of what’s going in the wider industry.”
Airlines globally lost $11 billion in 2009, according to figures from the International Air Transport Association.
