Ryanair lifts passenger growth forecast as price war hits rivals

Ryanair raised its long-term passenger growth forecast by 10% Monday to 200m travellers a year by 2024, saying it planned to take advantage as intense fare competition forces higher-cost rivals to retrench. It also announced it would return an additional E550m to shareholders by February in a share buyback, a move that helped lift its share price by 6%. Ryanair cut its profit forecast last month by 5% for the year to March due to sterling weakness and lower average fares, but it still expects to outperform most rivals by increasing profits by 7% in the year to the end of March. With the lowest cost base in the industry and a strategy of filling planes irrespective of air fares, it says it is uniquely positioned to take advantage of current low fares to boost market share. "We have EU incumbents retrenching, restructuring...creating more and more opportunities for Ryanair, particularly in primary airports," CE Michael O'Leary said. "The second half of the year will be difficult in a weaker pricing environment, but we expect that with a huge cost advantage over every other carrier in Europe, Ryanair is well positioned to continue to grow strongly." Ryanair said it plans to grow capacity by 13% this winter compared to an industry average increase of around 9% - the highest level of capacity growth in the industry in a decade.<br/>