Ryanair is to pay its first ever dividend after reporting a full-year profit on declining fuel costs.
The carrier said it plans to pay investors a special dividend of €500 million in October, its first payment to shareholders since the company sold stock in 1997, after deciding against expanding its fleet.
"It's a one-time dividend," chief financial officer Howard Millar said in a phone interview today. "It doesn't look like we're going to make a deal to buy planes in the near term so it was appropriate to return money to shareholders."
The no-frills airline today reported net income of €305 million in the 12 months through March 31st, compared with a net loss of €169 million a year earlier.
Revenue increased by 2 per cent after the growth in passenger numbers outstripped the decline in average fares.
The carrier's sales were affected at the start of this fiscal year after the eruption an Icelandic volcano closed European airspace in April for six days in April, grounding 100,000 flights. A second wave of ash in May closed terminals in Ireland and Scotland before spilling as far south as central Spain, the Canary Islands and Morocco.
Ryanair's deputy chief executive Michael Cawley said the airline will probably "regress" in Ireland if airports continue to raise prices, and said it will operate fewer flights from Dublin this winter.
He declined to comment on whether the company will base fewer aircraft at Dublin airport.
Meanwhile, chief executive Michael O’Leary said the volcanic ash cloud cost the airline more than £40 million and said it was gearing up for a legal challenge against “unfair” EU regulations, which forced carriers to cover the costs of refreshments and accommodation for passengers who could not get home.
Mr O’Leary said the firm planned to use the top 20 “most ludicrous” claims as part of a test case in the courts.
Bloomberg, PA