Ryanair, sharp drop in profits due to antitrust fine
In the third quarter net of extraordinary items the net result fell by 22%. Traffic forecast revised upwards
by Mara Monti
Low cost airline Ryanair has revised upwards its forecasts for passenger traffic and airfares for the full year, benefiting from the delivery of the latest Boeing 737 Max, but in the third quarter ending in December net profit fell to EUR 115 million (-22%), excluding a provision of EUR 85 million for the fine imposed by the Italian competition authority last December. If this extraordinary item is also taken into account, net profit falls to EUR 30 million (-80%) from last year's EUR 149 million.This extraordinary charge totals EUR 256 million, but the company said it is confident that this fine will be overturned on appeal.
For the fiscal year 2026, traffic is expected to increase by 4% to almost 208 million passengers, up from the 207 million predicted in November, a note said. Fares will increase by more than 7 per cent, trending between 1 per cent and 2 per cent higher than the previous year. Ryanair said it is 'cautiously targeting' full-year profit after tax, excluding extraordinary items, from EUR 2.13 billion to EUR 2.23 billion.
'Consumers continue to travel, but capacity continues to be severely limited in Europe and this is leading to a slight increase in airfares,' said Neil Sorahan, Ryanair's CFO, in an interview on the company's website.
In the third quarter, traffic increased by 6% to 47.5 million passengers with a load factor of 92% and turnover amounted to EUR 3.21 million (+9%),
Europe's first low-cost airline has reported an improvement in deliveries from Boeing, a marked improvement from the difficult situation a year ago when Boeing struggled to deliver planes on time. The airline expects the last four Max 8 models to be delivered by February, while the new Max 10, which has not yet been certified, will join Ryanair's fleet in spring 2027.
