Ryanair makes first quarterly profit since pandemic


11/02/2021

Europe's largest low-cost airline, Ryanair, has reported its second quarter and first half of the current financial year.



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The company reported a profit of €225 million in the second quarter, compared to a loss of the same amount a year earlier. And this is the airline's first profit since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, for the full fiscal year Ryanair expects a loss of €100-200 million as it will have to lower ticket prices in winter to fill more planes.

As for the figures for the first half of the year, the airline reported a 128% increase in passenger traffic, with 39.1 million passengers carried. This is more than twice as many as the same period in 2020, but 54% less than in 2019, before the pandemic began.

In the first half of 2021, the commercial aircraft load factor rose from 72% to 79%. Revenue rose by 83% to €2.28bn, while operating costs rose 63% to €2.2bn. Ryanair chief executive Michael O'Leary estimates the company could finally return to profitability in the 2022-2023 financial year, which ends in March 2023. The company's shares have risen 10.7% since the beginning of the year.

source: ft.com