Ryanair takes hit from Brussels terror, French strikes

Ryanair warned Tuesday it will take a hit of up to E20m on the back of deadly terror attacks in Brussels and air traffic control strikes in France. The airline forecasts a hit of between E10m and E20m in Q4 of its financial year, or three months to Mar 31. "That's due to the ATC (air traffic control) strikes and the Brussels attacks," CE Michael O'Leary said. O'Leary said the events might also continue to weigh on demand and continuing nervousness in the wake of the attacks in Belgium could affect earnings further in the current quarter. "What is harder to gauge is what will be the impact on travel confidence after Easter, in the April-May period. It's too early to say if there will be a material impact. In general, the airlines will have to lower air fares after Easter because there will still be a rump of nervousness." O'Leary was scathing of the frequency and "cynical" timing of industrial action by air traffic controllers in France during peak holiday periods which, he said, caused untold inconvenience to passengers across Europe. Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Shane Kelly cautioned that the estimated hit from the Brussels attacks and French strikes was a small proportion of Ryanair's total annual income. The combined "impact mentioned as result of Brussels attacks and French air traffic strikes .... represents just 1.1% of expected adjusted net income for 2016", Kelly said.<br/>