Ryanair posts record Christmas quarter, sees ‘very robust’ summer demand

DUBLIN - Ryanair on Monday posted its largest after-tax profit for the October-to-December quarter and said bookings for Easter and summer flights in recent weeks were “very robust”, boosted by demand from Asian travellers and a strong US dollar.

“Bookings are showing no signs of recession at this point in time,” chief financial officer Neil Sorahan told Reuters.

“We had record bookings in week two and week three of January, very robust demand into Easter and the summer without fare stimulation,” he said.

The Irish airline, Europe’s largest by passenger numbers, said it had earned €211 million (S$302 million) in the three months ended Dec 31, the third quarter of its financial year.

The profit numbers compared with a forecast of €200 million in a company poll of analysts and its previous record of €106 million in the final three months of 2017.

Ryanair reiterated its forecast of an after-tax profit of between €1.325 billion and €1.425 billion for the year to March 31. Mr Sorahan said he was “very comfortable” with that range.

He declined to comment on whether fares were likely to rise by a high single-digit percentage in the coming summer, saying only that he was “encouraged by bookings at this point”.

The airline in January upgraded an earlier forecast of €1 billion to €1.2 billion, citing pent-up demand for travel after Covid-19 lockdowns were lifted worldwide.

“With Asian tourists now returning and a strong US dollar encouraging Americans to explore Europe, we’re seeing robust demand,” chief executive officer Michael O’Leary said in a statement.

Demand weakness in the United Kingdom reported earlier in January has disappeared and may have been due to transport strikes in the country, Mr O’Leary said.

Last week, rivals Wizz Air and EasyJet reported strong summer bookings.

Ryanair, unlike many airlines, kept its pilots and crew up to date with their flying hours during the pandemic to take advantage of the swift rebound, and flew a record 38.4 million passengers in final three months of 2022.

Its market share increased to 40 per cent in Italy from 26 per cent before the Covid-19 pandemic, and to 38 per cent in Poland from 27 per cent, the results statement said on Monday.

“We see the Easter and summer booking commentary as sentiment positive for the shares,” Citi analyst Sathish Sivakumar said in a note.

Ryanair expects to fly 168 million passengers in the year to March 31, well above its previous annual record of 149 million reached before the pandemic brought the travel industry to a standstill.

Passenger numbers are set to hit 185 million in the next financial year, Mr O’Leary said. REUTERS