Irish budget carrier Ryanair is forecasting a robust winter period, and has sharply raised its profit outlook for the full year following a strong first half.
Ryanair is expecting a full-year net figure of €750-770 million ($950-978 million) after setting targets of a 12% increase in passenger numbers for the third quarter, and 20% for the fourth.
The airline admits that these targets are “very ambitious” for the weaker half, but states that it has “many opportunities” to attract business traffic over the winter season.
Full-year passenger numbers will increase by 9% to 89 million, the carrier forecasts.
Over the first half its net profits increased by nearly a third to €795 million.
It turned in a 9% increase in revenues, to €3.5 billion, after passenger numbers climbed to more than 50 million.
Average first-half fares were up by 5% to €54, and ancillary revenues were 4% higher at €741 million.
Ryanair says the performance is partly due to a weak previous year as well as the inclusion of the late Easter holiday period in the first quarter.
But the carrier also points out that it has experienced a “strong summer” and claims it benefited from its revised policies on customer experience.
Load factor for the first half increased by four points to 89%.
Fuel contributed to a 2% reduction in unit costs, and the carrier is capitalising on the fuel-price reduction by extending hedges for 2016. Higher landing and handling fees led unit costs, excluding fuel, to rise by 3% over the first half.
Source: Cirium Dashboard
