Irish no-frills carrier Ryanair Holdings PLC yesterday announced a large reduction in annual net losses as the aviation sector recovered from COVID-19 lockdowns.
Loss after tax dropped to 355 million euros (US$369.53 million) in the 12 months to the end of March, compared with a net loss of 1 billion euros in its previous financial year.
“This recovery, however, remains fragile” following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, chief executive Michael O’Leary said in a statement.
Photo: Reuters
“Given the continuing risk of adverse news flows on” Ukraine and COVID-19, “it is impractical — if not impossible — to provide a sensible or accurate profit guidance range at this time,” he added.
While Ryanair expects cost increases as a result of surging oil prices fueled by the war, it hopes “to return to reasonable profitability” in its current financial year.
It forecast passenger traffic of 165 million in its new financial year, up from 149 million before the COVID-19 pandemic.
The airline last year carried more than 97 million passengers, an increase from 27.5 million during the previous 12-month period when the pandemic struck.
Group revenue almost tripled to 4.8 billion euros last year as travel demand recovered.
Despite surging inflation, its average fares fell more than one-quarter to 27 euros, Ryanair said.
The airline had expected a much lower loss until the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 struck late last year, hitting fares and causing fresh disruptions across its European routes.
The airline said it remains committed to restoring its staffs’ salaries to what they were before the pandemic as soon as it returns to levels of profitability seen before COVID-19 struck.
Ryanair axed 3,000 pilot and cabin crew jobs, or 15 percent of staff, in the wake of pandemic.
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