Ryanair books 6% profit increase

Ryanair reported a full year net profit of E1.32b, up 6% on the previous year’s E1.24b. The full year profit to end March came on the back of a 13% average cut in fares, Ryanair said, as unit costs fell 11% during the period. Revenue edged up 2% to E6.65b. Ryanair CE Michael O’Leary said the increased profit came “despite difficult trading conditions in FY17 caused by a series of security events at European cities, a switch of charter capacity from North Africa, Turkey and Egypt to mainland Europe, and a sharp decline in sterling following the June 2016 Brexit vote. “We reacted to these challenges by improving our customer experience, and stimulating growth with lower fares,” he added. The 13% drop in air fares led to a 2% fall in scheduled revenues to E4.87b, but a 13% lift in ancillary revenues to E1.78b pushed total revenue up 2%. The increase in ancillary revenue to 27% of the total was driven by a solid performance in reserved seating, priority boarding, car hire and on-board sales, the airline said. Expenses edged up 1% to E5.1b, with fuel costs falling 8% to E1.91b due to lower euro denominated fuel prices. Unit costs fell 11%, ex-fuel they were down 5%. Operating profit came in at E1.53b, a 5% increase on the previous year. The low cost carrier flew 120m people during the year, a 13% increase, with load factor rising one percentage point to 94%.<br/>