Ryanair narrows guidance on expected losses

Europe’s largest low-cost airline Ryanair has warned its losses for the year to March 31 will be towards the lower end of its predictions. The Dublin-based airline said it expected pre-exceptional losses for the financial year just ended to be in the E350mn to E400mn range. It previously gave a range of E250m to E450m for the period. It also said passenger numbers had recovered to 97mn for the year, against 27.5m for the year to March 31, 2021, but were still well below the 149m annual figure before the pandemic. CE Michael O’Leary has warned that the European airline industry’s recovery has slowed in recent months, because of lockdowns imposed late last year to combat the Omicron coronavirus variant, and then the Russian invasion of Ukraine. While people have begun flying again in significant numbers, Ryanair has kept ticket prices low outside busy periods to encourage people to book, O’Leary said last week. Mark Simpson, an aviation analyst at Goodbody, said the changes to Ryanair’s financial guidance were “slightly disappointing”, but added that investors’ focus “remains on the build-up of demand over the next two months” as the peak spring and summer season begins. O’Leary has predicted a rapid recovery over the next 12 months thanks to pent up demand for travel, when he expects Ryanair to carry more than 150mn passengers and swing back into profit, partly because it is well hedged against rising oil prices. The airline said on Monday it had hedged 80% of its expected fuel requirements over the next 12 months.<br/>