Ryanair has hiked its full-year net profit guidance to €750-€770 million from the €650 million previously forecast. This bullish view has come on the back of the 32% increase in its first-half net profit.
“We caution that this raised guidance remains heavily reliant on the strength of close in bookings for the remainder of the third quarter, and in particular the fourth quarter where we presently have very little visibility,” said Michael O’Leary, Ryanair CEO.
During the first-half of the year, Ryanair reported a 32% increase in net income to €795 million due to an early Easter and a weak comparable period. The airline has also been helped by strong summer bookings, load factors and yields. Revenue rose by 9% to €3.5 billion, with expenses up by 2.6% to €2.6 billion to produce an operating profit of €933.4 million, up 30%.
Passenger numbers rose 4% to 51.3 million. Load factor grew by four percentage points to 89%. Average fares were up 5% at €54 and unit costs fell by 2%, or 3% excluding fuel.