(Alliance News) - Ryanair Holdings PLC on Monday said it returned to profit in its recently concluded financial year and is "cautiously optimistic" of further growth in the new year, amid robust demand.
The Dublin-based budget airline said total revenue more than doubled to EUR10.78 billion in the financial year to March 31 from EUR4.80 billion a year before.
Ryanair swung to a pretax profit of EUR1.44 billion from a loss of EUR429.8 million.
From the previous year, load factor improved to 93% from 82%, as customer numbers rose by 74% to 168.6 million - which was also 13% ahead of financial 2020's levels, before the Covid-19 pandemic, Ryanair noted.
Total operating costs rose 75% to EUR9.20 billion, mostly due to higher fuel costs, which more than doubled to EUR3.90 billion.
The airline hailed its commitment to maintaining jobs throughout the pandemic, when its competitors had cut thousands of jobs. Ryanair said the strategy meant it was fully staffed to operate its summer schedule in 2022, whereas its competitors cancelled capacity, often at short notice, due to staff shortages.
"As Ryanair grows traffic to [225 million per annum] by [financial 2026 and [300 million by financial 2034], our group will create over 10,000 new jobs for highly paid pilots, cabin crew, and engineers," it said.
With short-haul capacity below pre-Covid levels, demand is "notably robust", Ryanair said, with forward bookings and air fares currently into Summer 2023 "strong".
The airline said it hopes annual traffic will grow 10% in financial 2024 to 185 million.
"Boeing's recent delivery delays may push some of this growth into the lower yielding H2 and may reduce this target slightly," it warned.
Earlier this month, Ryanair placed an order for up to 300 new Boeing 737-MAX-10 aircraft, worth around USD40 billion a list prices.
In April, Boeing said the model would be hit by delays, after a defect was discovered. When the Ryanair order was announced, Boeing's co-chief executive officer said he was "confident" the company will fulfil the order.
For the current year, Ryanair expects its fuel bill to rise by over EUR1 billion, due to higher oil prices, but its jet fuel costs are almost 85% hedged, it said.
The airline also expects a "modest" increase in unit costs, excluding fuel, due to higher staff costs and increased enroute charges.
"Despite ongoing uncertainty over the timing of Boeing deliveries, almost 15% unhedged fuel, limited [second quarter] visibility and zero [second half] fare visibility (normal at this time of year), we are cautiously optimistic that [financial 2024] revenue will grow sufficiently to cover our EUR1 billion higher fuel bill and still deliver a modest year-on-year profit increase," the Irish carrier said.
By Elizabeth Winter, Alliance News senior markets reporter
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