Ryanair is starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel – but only just – as it announced the financial results of the quarter ending in September, which represents, in the airline’s financial calendar, the end of the first half of Financial Year 2022.
The company registered a net profit of EUR225.0 million, up from a net loss of EUR225.5 million in the same quarter of 2020. However, given the weaker travel environment in the first quarter (from April to June), the first half of the year ended with a net loss of EUR47.6 million, down from losses of EUR410.5 million in the same half last year.
While the airline is the first in Europe to see positive numbers leaving the pandemic, the airline is remaining cautious going forward, especially for this Winter season.
Given the close-in bookings and the remaining uncertainty, fares were down 30% from last year’s first half, at EUR33, with ancillary revenues remaining more or less the same, at EUR22.50 per passenger.
While this is part of Ryanair’s aggressive capacity strategy, it goes to show that there is still a long way to go towards full recovery.
However, this is a recovery where the airline expects to lead the way by adding capacity. While this drives costs down by adding volume to the system, it also requires driving down fares as well, to stimulate the demand.
Considering this, Ryanair says that it could reach again the 100 million passengers mark this financial year – ended in March 2022 -, but that it expects to register a net loss from EUR100 to EUR200 million, “subject to winter fares”.
The Irish carrier registered 149 million passengers in the financial year ending in March 2020 and 27.5 in the financial year ending in March 2021.
