Ryanair expects annual losses to be below previous guidance after a rebound in carryings following the pandemic.
The no-frills airline group briefed the market that it expects to report a pre-exceptional net loss of between €350 million and €400 million for the year to March 31 against the previously guided range of €250 million to €450 million.
Ryanair’s full-year traffic “recovered strongly” to more than 97 million passengers against 27.5 million in the previous 12 months, but below the pre-Covid level of 149 million.
Its fuel hedging has been increased to 80% cover and Ryanair claimed that its balance sheet “is one of the strongest in our sector”.
Net debt by the end of the financial year has dropped to €1.5 billion from €2.3 billion in the previous 12 months.
The airline reported 11.2 million carryings in March as it operated more than 67,800 flights with a load factor of 87%, against just 500,000 the same month in 2021.
But last month’s performance was impacted by the Russian invasion which caused 2,000 flights to and from Ukraine to be cancelled in the month due to airspaceclosures.
Traffic in December, January and February was also badly affected by Omicron restrictions.
Ryanair Group’s next market update will be on May 16 when full year financial results are issued.
Meanwhile, rival Wizz Air carried almost 2.5 million passenger last month, a rise of 416% year-on-year, with a load factor of 86.2% up from 2.5%